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By  George  Wharton  Edward:^ 


ITie  Perm  Pubi 


tvwoT  Vi\0  •ii\T — w\oo\\ 


Hoorn—The  Old  Tower 


HOLLAND 


TODAY 

By  George  Wharton  Edwards 

r 
Author  oj 

Vanished  Towers  and  Chimes  of  Piandera 

Vanished  Halls  and  Cathedrals  of  France 

Alsace-Lorraine,  etc. 


Philadelphia 

The  Penn  PubKshing  Company 


COPYRIGHT 
19     19  BY 

GEORGE 
W  H  A  R  T  ON 
EDWARDS 


All  rights  reserved 


^ 
V 


.^^ 


JSc  tbe  Butboc  ot 


VANISHED   TOWERS   AND   CHIMES 
OF  FLANDERS. 

VANISHED     HALLS     AND     CATHE- 
DRALS OF  FRANCE. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE. 

BRITTANY  AND  THE  BRETONS. 

SOME  OLD  FLEMISH  TOV^S. 

MARKEN  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 

THE  FOREST  OF  ARDEN. 

ETC. 


A  fi  I*  '^  ^-  .-> 


flDl?  jf  r(en& 
H)r*  B^(5ar  JSrenson  SmUb 


IFori^toort 


Perhaps  in  a  book  like  this,  dealing  with  the  superficial 
and  picturesque  characteristics  of  the  country  as  seen  cas- 
ually yet  appreciatively  by  an  observant  traveler,  one 
should  not  attempt  to  lift  the  veil  that  curtains  it  so 
charmingly.  Yet  the  red  blast  of  the  great  war  now  so 
happily  ended  for  suffering  humanity,  has  so  shriveled 
the  fabric  that  here  and  there  one  sees  the  bare  bones  of 
the  skeleton  hitherto  so  well  concealed  from  view.  The 
Dutch  have  always  been  thought  "stein  reich"  (stone 
rich),  as  the  saying  is,  and  certainly  there  is  little  evi- 
dence of  poverty  in  the  country.  The  Dutch  "boer"  or 
farmer  in  his  quaint  costume  is  the  vital  strength  of  the 
country.  He  is  phlegmatic,  self-reliant,  "rooted  in  the 
soil,"  to  quote  David  S.  Meldrum.  One  would  not  at- 
tribute to  him  any  sort  of  emotion,  yet  emotional  he  is, 
and  certainly  to  a  great  degree.  From  his  class  come 
the  "Stadhouders,"  and  the  "Stadhouders"  govern  the 
country. 

The  people  during  the  great  war  were  pro-Ally  to  the 
last  man  of  them.  Not  for  any  love  of  the  English  or 
the  French,  be  it  said ;  on  the  contrary  they  have  neither 
love  nor  sympathy  for  either.  They  were  pro-Ally  be- 
cause of  their  fear  and  hatred  of  the  Germans.     In  their 

9 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

eyes  the  consort  Prince  Henry  was  ever  a  standing  men- 
ace to  the  future  of  the  Netherlands.  In  vain  did  he 
woo  them  with  soft  words  and  carefully  considered  acts ; 
they  would  have  none  of  him.  I  have  witnessed  their 
silent  treatment  of  him  on  occasions  when  he  endeavored 
to  take  part  in  their  festivities  at  the  yearly  kermess.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  war,  when  certain  German  officers 
were  interned  at  The  Hague  the  Prince  Consort  was  seen 
driving  with  them  several  times,  and  finally  when  he 
invited  them  to  a  formal  dinner  the  "Stadhouders" 
brought  up  the  matter  formally  in  the  "Raad."  After 
grave  and  deliberate  discussion  it  was  (so  says  the  gen- 
erally trustworthy  Nieuws  Van  den  Dag)  resolved  to 
reprimand  his  Highness  the  Prince  Consort,  and  in  case 
of  a  repetition  of  the  offense,  to  deprive  him  of  his  uni- 
form and  confine  him  to  barracks  for  a  specified  number 
of  days.  It  is  said  that  the  reprimand  was  sufficient,  and 
that  there  were  no  more  dinners  to  the  interned  officers. 

The  nobility,  it  is  said,  from  the  Queen  down  to  the 
poorest  *'Yonkheer,"  are  absolutely  pro-German,  and  I 
am  credibly  informed  that  nearly  all  of  the  nobles  (Hoog 
en  wel  edel  geboren)  are  members  of  a  very  powerful 
order  called  the  Johaniters,  which  dates  from  the  days 
of  the  Crusaders.  Many  of  the  reigning  monarchs  are 
hereditary  members  of  this  society.  This  order  enforces 
the  vow  of  implicit  obedience,  which  each  member  takes 
upon  entering.     One  of  these  vows  is  that  of  the  enforce- 

10 


FOREWORD 

ment  of  the  right  of  sanctuary  granted  to  each  member. 
The  oath  connected  with  this  vow  is  said  to  be  really 
mediaeval  in  its  luridness,  naming  dire  and  almost  unbe- 
lievable penalties  for  any  evasion  or  failure  to  carry  it 
out  to  the  letter.  Count  Von  Bentinck  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Johaniters,  and  as  such  was  "commanded 
by  high  authority  to  prepare  for  the  reception,  entertain- 
ment, and  shelter  of  William  Hohenzollern  at  his  Cas- 
tle of  Amerongen  near  Utrecht — a  command  which 
could  not  be  evaded."  (Nieuws  Van  den  Dag — ^Am- 
sterdam, December  loth,  1918.) 

The  Castle  of  Amerongen,  the  residence  of  Count 
Bentinck,  is  situated  at  some  distance  from  the  town,  an 
ancient  building  of  dull  brick  mantled  with  ivy,  sur- 
rounded by  a  deep  moat,  and  approached  by  an  arched 
bridge  through  a  brick  gateway  flanked  by  two  lanterns. 
The  building  is  two  storied,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  H, 
with  four  towers,  one  at  each  corner,  which  are  sur- 
mounted by  the  quaint  onion-shaped  bulbs  so  common  in 
the  Netherlands.  There  is  a  very  ornate  gilded  sculp- 
ture of  the  ancient  Bentinck  arms  in  the  gable  over  the 
wide  white  pillared  doorway,  which  is  approached  by  a 
broad  double  flight  of  stone  steps.  There  are  many  shut- 
terless  windows,  with  heavy  frames  painted  white,  and 
over  the  gilded  coat  of  arms  is  a  small  pent  roofed  gable 
in  which  is  a  white  clock  face  with  gilt  hands.  The  roof 
is  of  dark  gray  slate,  and  flying  about  are  flocks  of  ravens 

11 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

that  have  their  nests  under  the  eaves.  The  highroad 
passes  before  the  Castle,  and  is  lined  with  heavy  trees. 
In  the  winter  a  more  dismal  dwelling  place  can  hardly  be 
imagined,  for  on  every  hand  the  flat  bleak  fields,  dotted 
with  farmsteads,  stretch  for  miles  around. 

Such  castles  as  this  called  "Amerongen"  are  not  really 
large  estates.  As  a  rule  they  consist  of  but  a  few  acres, 
but  the  grounds  are  made  as  picturesque  and  as  attractive 
as  possible,  that  is,  of  course,  in  the  Dutch  style.  The 
"castle"  is  usually  of  red  brick,  with  slate  roof  and  as 
many  bulbous  towers  as  it  will  stand.  The  windows 
are  wide  and  tall,  and  the  frames  are  invariably  painted 
white.  There  will  be  many  beautiful  old  trees,  and  the 
grounds  will  be  planted  with  a  great  variety  of  flowers  in 
carefully  placed  ornamental  beds.  There  will  be  canals 
and  ponds,  and  if  possible  a  moat,  no  matter  how  small 
it  may  have  to  be,  and  always  there  will  be  a  summer 
house  or  pagoda,  where  Mynheer  and  his  lady  may  sit  in 
contemplation  of  the  ducks  or  swans  among  the  water 
lilies.  These  of  course  are  the  ancient  and  more  impor- 
tant places.  The  newer  ones,  owned  by  the  wealthy  mer- 
chants and  ''bourgeoisie,"  are  more  up-to-date — what  is 
called  "art  nouveau"  style,  painted  in  gay  fantastic  colors 
and  crowded  into  small  spaces,  but  nevertheless  they  are 
not  unattractive. 

To  understand  the  position  taken  by  the  Netherlands 
in  this  matter  of  sanctuary  which  they  so  vehemently 

12 


FOREWORD 

urge,  one  should  remember  the  Dutch  hatred  of  tyranny 
of  any  sort.  Holland  is  as  free  as  any  nation  in  the 
world.  As  a  country  there  is  little  of  republican  lib- 
erty that  the  Netherlands  does  not  already  enjoy,  so  the 
recent  attempt  of  the  Socialists  to  upset  the  throne  not 
only  failed  dismally  but  resolved  itself  into  a  most  loyal 
support  of  the  Government.  While  underneath  is  an 
evident  impatience  with  the  police  restrictions  over  all 
Socialistic  gatherings  of  the  people,  their  supreme  sense 
of  order  holds  them  in  check.     They  love  the  Queen. 

The  Dutchman  has  a  rare  and  really  splendid  under- 
standing of  the  quality  of  justice!  He  will  have  his 
rights  as  he  understands  them.  Thus  came  the  Dutch  in- 
dignation over  the  Boer  War,  and  over  the  details  of  the 
Zola  trial.  This  indignation  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  Dreyfus  or  their  opinion  of  the  wis- 
dom of  Zola.  They  were  inflamed  at  what  they  con- 
sidered a  really  flagrant  travesty  of  justice. 

Although  uncompromising  and  entirely  utilitarian,  the 
Hollander  is  at  heart  a  sentimentalist.  Plain  of  speech 
to  the  verge  of  brutality,  he  is  entirely  truthful.  He  suf- 
fers from  no  form  of  illusion,  but  he  is  really  infantile  in 
his  affections  and  in  his  family  life.  Witness  him  in 
those  glimpses  furnished  by  the  paintings  of  Van  der 
Heist,  Franz  Hals,  and  Van  Ostade,  when  he  abandons 
his  phlegmatic  calm  and  plunges  into  the  most  extraor- 
dinary abandonment  during  the  yearly  "Kermis."     Not 

13 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

only  is  this  true  of  the  common  people,  but  the  upper 
class  as  well.  Each  of  the  great  Universities  in  Holland 
celebrates  the  date  of  its  foundation  every  five  years  by 
a  period  of  hilarity  in  most  characteristic  manner,  with 
concerts,  banquets,  and  street  processions  headed  by 
bands  of  musicians.  The  sight  is  most  amusing  and  sur- 
prising, almost  unbelievable,  that  these  erstwhile  grave 
burghers  and  their  families  could  thus  unbend.  No  one 
thinks  the  worse  of  them  for  the  temporary  lapse,  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  another  country  where  dignified  avo- 
cats  and  statesmen,  professors,  and  grave  country  gentle- 
men, present  such  a  picture  of  ingenuousness  and  aban- 
don as  witnessed  in  these  celebrations. 

For  years  the  Dutch  have  enjoyed  a  safe  and  unevent- 
ful life.  The  country  emerged  from  her  last  war 
stripped  of  power  but  gorged  with  wealth.  Her  former 
prowess  she  can  never  regain,  and  she  has  retained  her 
wealth  by  incredible  industry.  Her  place  among  nations 
she  holds  by  consent  of  Europe,  and  thus  her  political 
existence  has  been  untroubled  and  negative.  The  Dutch 
have  known  very  well  indeed  that  the  cannon  purchased 
from  Germany  that  line  her  side  of  the  Rhine  are  only 
for  show.  They  have  known,  too,  that  their  Navy  is  of 
no  avail  and  quite  needless.  So  Holland  has  lived  on, 
entirely  self -centered,  splendidly  exploiting  her  rich  col- 
onies, leaving  to  history  her  former  dreams  of  empire, 
and  practicing  in  speech  and  action  that  prudence  of 


FOREWORD 

which  she  has  made  a  supreme  virtue  and  which  has  hith- 
erto made  for  her  safety  and  security.  .  .  . 

And  then  all  at  once  the  great  war  roared  about  her. 
Belgium  was  invaded  and  overrun  by  the  Hun.  More 
than  a  million  hapless  frantic  peasants  streamed  across 
her  borders,  and  found  shelter  and  food  freely  given. 
She  quickly  mobilized  her  eight  hundred  thousand  sol- 
diers for  the  protection  of  her  frontier,  and  the  "Stadhou- 
ders"  resolved  unanimously  to  maintain  her  neutrality, 
"by  force  of  arms  if  necessary."  This  she  has  most  cer- 
tainly done,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  consort  is  a  near 
relative  of  the  ex-Kaiser. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  the  river  Scheldt,  a  short 
distance  below  Antwerp  in  Belgium,  flowing  seaward 
through  a  narrow  strip  of  Dutch  territory.  At  its  mouth 
lies  Flushing.  Forts  in  a  double  array  line  the  whole 
length  of  the  river.  This  possession  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Scheldt  by  Holland  has  been  a  source  of  dissatisfac- 
tion to  Belgium  for  many  years,  and  led  to  the  building 
of  the  great  Zeebrugge  (pronounced  Zaybrigga)  Canal 
which  made  Bruges  a  seaport.  During  the  war  Zee- 
brugge was  a  most  valuable  naval  base  of  Germany  where 
her  submarines  were  assembled  and  sent  forth.  It  is 
now  claimed  by  Great  Britain  that  Holland  winked  at 
the  use  of  the  Scheldt  River  by  Germany,  whereby  her 
submarines  built  in  Antwerp  in  the  huge  docks  were  sent 
down  the  river  to  the  channel  under  cover  of  darkness. 

15 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

This  is  vehemently  denied  by  Holland,  but  whatever  the 
truth  of  the  matter  may  be,  Belgium  now  presents  a  de- 
mand to  be  placed  before  the  members  of  the  Peace  Com- 
mission asking  that  both  the  Scheldt  and  the  irritating 
strip  of  territory  through  which  it  runs  shall  be  handed 
over  to  her.  Not  only  this,  but  to  the  dismay  and  indig- 
nation of  the  Dutch  she  also  asks  that  the  Provinces  of 
Dutch  Limburg  and  Luxemburg  also  shall  become  Bel- 
gian. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  cession  of  the  Scheldt  and 
these  territories,  Holland  is  aroused  to  the  most  intense 
indignation,  and  the  newspapers  are  filled  with  protest- 
ing letters  from  all  over  the  country.  However,  it  is 
doubtful  if  protest  will  avail.  The  sufferings  of  Bel- 
gium are  such  that  almost  any  demand  she  makes  at  the 
Peace  table  will  probably  be  granted.  The  position  of 
Holland  to-day  is  one  which  furnishes  much  cause  for 
speculation,  and  prophecies  as  to  the  future,  though  in- 
teresting, are  rather  idle.  This  much  may  be  said :  Hol- 
land will  certainly  have  to  accept  whatever  the  members 
of  the  Commission  may  decide  upon,  and  make  the  best 
of  it. 

That  Holland  recognizes  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
which  she  faces  is  made  plain  by  the  appointment  of 
Yonkheer  Rene  de  Marees  Van  Swinderen  as  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  at  The  Hague.  Yonkheer  Van  Swin- 
deren filled  the  difficult  post  of  Plenipotentiary  of  the 

16 


FOREWORD 

Netherlands  in  London  during  the  war,  and  served  as 
minister  at  Washington  for  many  years.  His  appoint- 
ment to  the  direction  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  London  is 
welcomed  by  the  "Entente"  Powers,  and  is  expected  to 
relieve  the  strain  to  which  their  intercourse  with  the 
Netherlands  has  been  subjected  since  1914. 

Van  Swinderen,  in  spite  of  the  exceedingly  unfriendly 
attitude  assumed  by  the  Dutch  Government,  though  not 
by  the  Dutch  people,  has  managed  to  retain,  throughout, 
the  confidence  of  the  British  Government  and  the  favor 
and  good  will  of  the  Court  and  the  British  people,  while 
carrying  out  in  the  most  punctilious  manner  the  instruc- 
tions of  his  Government,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  has 
never  made  any  secret,  in  England  or  at  home,  of  the 
direction  in  which  lay  his  sympathies  in  the  great  war. 

It  is  urged  at  Paris  that  the  action  of  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment in  permitting  the  Germans  continually  to  vio- 
late the  neutrality  of  her  territory  in  Limburg  for  the 
transmission  of  war  supplies  and  German  troops  to  the 
front  undoubtedly  prolonged  the  war  and  added  to  the 
great  difficulties  and  losses  of  the  Allies,  and  even  when 
the  German  collapse  occurred  this  sympathy  and  com- 
plaisance enabled  the  Germans  not  only  to  retreat  with 
supplies  and  arms  intact,  which  should  have  been  sur- 
rendered to  the  Allies  by  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  but 
furthermore  facilitated  and  enabled  them,  it  is  claimed, 
to  remove  great  stores  of  plunder  from  the  invaded  ter- 

17 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ritory  into  Germany.  It  must  be  added  that  the  Stad- 
houders  hotly  opposed  this  attitude  of  the  Government, 
but  apparently  nothing  came  of  their  denunciations,  and 
in  answer  to  their  protests  the  Crown  extended  "right  and 
privilege  of  sanctuary"  to  Wilhelm  and  his  family,  "or- 
dering" Count  Von  Bentinck  to  receive  the  ex-Kaiser  at 
his  castle  at  Amerongen  and  conveying  the  Crown  Prince 
in  safety  to  the  bleak  island  of  Wieringen  off  the  Helder, 
where  he  remains,  to  the  manifest  uneasiness  of  the  fish- 
ermen. 

It  must  be  said  that  the  Dutch  Government  most  ear- 
nestly justifies  its  action  as  based  upon  existing  laws 
which  it  could  not  and  cannot  ignore,  but  the  text  of 
these  laws  is  not  given  out  or  explained  in  any  way  by 
the  Prime  Minister  in  his  communications.  Stubborn 
and  determined  is  the  spirit  of  the  Dutch  people  in  de- 
fense of  their  rights  as  they  understand  them. 

"On  that  bank  and  shoal,"  says  Motley,  ("The  Dutch 
Republic,"  Part  III,  Chapter  9)  "the  extreme  edge  of  hab- 
itable earth,  the  spirit  of  Holland's  freedom  stood  at 
bay,"  and  so  it  stands  to-day,  no  less  stubborn,  no  less  de- 
termined. The  mental  attitude  of  the  foreigner  towards 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  of  the  Nether- 
lands, as  well  as  his  manifest  amusement  in  the  super- 
ficial aspect  of  the  country;  his  refusal  to  take  any  part 
of  it  seriously,  is  a  source  of  intense  irritation  to  the  edu- 
cated class. 

18 


Amerongen  Castle 


ust  be  added  that  tht 
attitude  of  the  Gavcrament, 


anie  of  t ' 


lUl 


.j.t  of  s  to  Wiihcim  . 

Bcntinck  to  rece 
astic  at  Amcrongen  and  conveying  the  Crown  Trincc 
y  to  the  blcaV  of  Wieringen  off  the  Helder, 


it  remains 


easiness  o 


e.nien. 

It  must  be  said  tb. 
nestly  justifies  its  l  as  based  upon  v  s 

which  it  could  not  and  cannot  ignore,  but  the  text  of 
these  laws  is  not  given  out  or  explained  in  ar 
Prime  Minister  in  his  communicat 
determined  is  the  spirit  of  the  1 
ightsastheyun< 
\  sh'^a ' 

ofhab- 
eedom  stood  at 


ficial  aspe< 

of  it  scriouslv.  is  a  souri,     ^  . 


caicd  class 


iS 


*^ 


FOREWORD 

Mr.  B of  Monnickendam,  whose  many  courtesies 

I  hereby  acknowledge,  asks  me  to  say  to  my  readers  "that 
the  Netherlands  is  something  else  than  a  colored  postal 
card  country,  in  which  on  flat  green  fields  are  rings  of 
dancing  red-bodiced,  white-becapped  girls;  fat  herds  of 
black  and  white  cows  browsing  beneath  the  wavering 
arms  of  fantastic  windmills,  and  stolid  lines  of  Zuyder- 
zee  fishermen  clad  in  incredibly  wide  trousers  and  com- 
ical short-waisted  red  coats  gazing  seawards  at  nothing  in 
particular. 

"The  Netherlands,"  he  says,  "is  not  to  be  considered 
as  a  fat  Dutch  cheese  in  a  puddle  of  water."  The  Queen 
does  not  commonly  wear  a  flapping  lace  cap  with  silver 
screw  ornaments  at  her  temples ;  nor  has  she  long  yellow 
braids  hanging  down  her  back.  The  "Stadhouders"  do 
not  appear  before  Her  Majesty  in  wide  velveteen  maroon 
colored  trousers,  and  elaborately  carved  and  varnished 
wooden  shoes,  executing  pirouettes  in  unison,  their  hands 
in  their  pockets,  bulging  with  Delft  bottles  of  Schnapps, 
and  long  pipes  in  their  mouth;  nor  do  all  the  people  wear 
the  costume  of  Marken.  Please  say  [he  urges]  "that  the 
Netherlands  is  not  a  nation  of  freaks,  that  we  venture  to 
consider  ourselves  a  most  serious,  energetic,  and  impor- 
tant people;  that  in  our  estimation  we  are  not  at  all  be- 
hind the  times ;  that  certainly  our  traditions  are  sacred  to 
us,  but  that  our  position  in  the  world  of  Art,  Science,  Lit- 
erature, and  Industry,  is  at  least  honorable,  and  that  we 

19 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

are  not  content  to  rest  upon  our  achievements,  but  are  en- 
tirely abreast  of  the  times,  and  ambitious  as  to  our  future. 
Say  to  them  also,  mynheer,  that  if  they  would  appreciate 
the  Netherlands  and  know  it  for  what  it  is,  that  they 
must  believe  that  our  picturesque  anachronisms  are  not  a 
whit  less  amusing  to  us  than  they  are  to  the  tourist,  and 
that  the  evidences  of  the  sixteenth  century  manners  in 
the  out-of-the-way  districts  are  regarded  by  us  simply 
with  affectionate  tolerance.  Thus,  mynheer,  you  will  do 
a  great  justice  to  my  beloved  country." 

Nevertheless,  while  assuring  Mynheer  B that  I 

appreciated  his  feelings  so  eloquently  expressed,  I  took 
great  pains  to  explain  to  him  that  the  characteristics 
which  seemed  so  trivial  and  unworthy  to  him,  were  those 
which  rendered  his  country  so  charming  and  so  dear  to 
the  lover  of  the  quaint  and  the  unusual,  and  that  he  need 
have  little  fear  that  the  brave  little  country  "at  the  peril 
of  the  Sea"  would  be  misunderstood  by  the  people  of  the 
great  Republic,  whose  admiration  for  the  laws  and  the 
great  and  heroic  deeds  of  the  Dutch  is  unbounded. 

Dutch  pride  in  the  achievements  of  their  country  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at.  Let  us  remember  too  that  the  men 
who  founded  New  York  were  Dutchmen ;  that  the  Puri- 
tans who  arrived  at  Plymouth  had  spent  years  at  Delft 
under  Dutch  influence ;  that  Roger  Williams,  the  founder 
of  Rhode  Island,  was  educated  in  the  Netherlands,  and 
that  William  Penn's  mother  was  a  Dutchwoman.     These 

20 


FOREWORD 

facts  account  for  our  affection  for  the  Netherlands. 
There  is  a  most  popular  ballad  by  Brand  in  which  the 
Dutch  proclaim  their  sentiments : 

"Wij  leven  vrij,  wij  leven  blij 
Op  Neerlands  dierbren  grond, 
Outworsteld  aan  de  slavernij, 
Zijn  wij  door  cendracht  groote  en  vrij ; 
Hier  duldt  de  grond  geen  dwinglandij, 
Waar  vrij  held  eeuwen  stond. 

(Literally  translated) 
"We  live  free — we  live  blithe,  on  Netherlands'  dear  ground; 
delivered  from  slavery,  we  are  through  concord  great  and  free;  here 
the  land  suffers  no  tyranny,  where  freedom  has  subsisted  for  ages." 


21 


({ont^nts 


PAGE 

Foreword      ..     .     .     .     .,■.!»,    m    ,„      9 

I    The  Netherlands  ......     .     .     29 

What  is  "Holland?"— What  Hollanders  think  of  "Dutch 
Quaintness" — Holland  in  war-time — Famous  places  and  peo- 
ple— Smokers  and  bookshops — The  People's  Poet. 

II    Characteristics 46 

The  dykes — Government — Religion — The  language — Geog- 
raphy— Entertainment. 

III  Art,  Ancient  and  Modern      .      .      .      .     67 

Dutch  painters — Art,  ancient  and  modern — The  patroons — 
The  automobile — Skating  festivities — Civic  marriages — The 
feast — Wedding  ceremonies. 

IV  "The  Hollow  Land"    ......     86 

Walcheren: — Spanish  Zeeland — Breakfast — The  sweet  chimes 
— Dortrecht — The  Hollow  Land — Erasmus  in  the  Groote 
Market. 

V    Veere 96 

a  forgotten  village — Old  houses  and  old  people — Town 
Hall  and  Castle — The  deadest  town  in  Zeeland — Charming 
days  in  old  Dort — The  Dam  on  the  Rotte — The  old  glass 
of  Gouda. 

VI     Utrecht        116 

The  Cathedral — Amsterdam — The  back  streets — A  glass  of 
ice  water — The  Premier  Mine— The  Weeper's  Tower— Clean 
Broek — Theatrical  Marken — Zaandam — The  "Trekschuyt" — 
Fishermen  and  their  houses — The  Museum. 


CONTENTS 

FAGB 

VII    Alkmaar,  the  Cheese  Market    .      .      .140 

The  siege — The  market  place  at  night — The  side  shows — 
Hoorn — Those  little  birds — The  grateful  mothers — Hinde> 
loopen — The  Boer,  or  farmer — The  Betuwe,  or  Goodland — 
The  fields. 

VIII     By  Land  and  Sea 160 

Railway  manners — A  pretty  Dutch  house — Haarlem — A 
penal  colony — St.  Anna's  hofje — The  absence  of  poverty — 
Scheveningen — The  fishing  town — The  herring  fishery — Wil- 
liam of  Orange,  and  Tromp — The  Half  Moon. 

IX     The  Theater     ........    184 

The  stork — The  tobacco  shops — On  to  the  tramways — Myn- 
heer at  his  ease — Through  the  waterland — The  hospitality  of 
the  farmers — An  arrangement  in  Orange — In  the  North  Sea — 
The  return  to  port — A  Dutch  peasant. 

X     The  Hague 204 

a  cosmopolitan  town — The  consort — "London  fog" — The 
Queen — The  pleasure  of  the  table — The  nobility — The  church 
— Contentment. 

XI     Through  Friesland      ......  224 

To  Stavoren — In  Friesland — The  "Floating  Shop" — Ijilst — 
Workum — Hindeloopen — On  to  Bolsward — Leeuwarden — The 
farmers — The  Pinke  Wad — Dokkum — The  Innnkeeper — Wie- 

rum — Nes. 

XII     The  Republic 253 

History — Under  Spanish  rule — William  the  Silent — Na- 
poleon— Wilhelmina — Origin — The  People. 

XIII  Dutch  Silver     . 270 

American  collectors  and  American  imitators — Leeuwarden 
silversmiths — The  Guild  of  Hammermen — Bottle-holders  and 
cream  jugs — Silver  old  and  new. 

XIV  "Tot  V^eersiens" 277 

XV    Postscript 280 

Index 285 


iList  of  innstratiotui 


PAGE 


Hoorn — The  Old  Tower       ....       Frontispiece 

Amerongen  Castle 18 

Amsterdam — The  Little  Courtyard       ....     38 

Leeuwarden — The  Old  Church 62 

Enkhuizen — An  Interior       .      .      .      .      .      .      .68 

A  Dutch  Go-Cart 78 

Middelburg — The  Kermis    .      .      .      .     ;.      .      .90 

Veere — The  Return  to  Port  .      .      .      .      .      .,     .     98 

Veere — The  Town  Hall        .      .      .      .,     .      .      .    104 

Goes — On  the  Way  to  Market   .      .     -.,     .      .      .    108 

Goes — An  Oyster  Girl 112 

Amsterdam 120 

Monnickendam — Bell  Tower  and  Weigh  House     .    130 

Marken — On  the  Jetty 134 

Alkmaar — The  Weigh  House 142 

The  Friesland  Hat 150 

A  Friesland  Farm  House      .      .      .      .      .     ,.,     .154 

Haarlem — The  Amsterdam  Gate 162 

Enkhuizen — The  Weigh  House 166 

Harlingen,  from  the  Water 170 

Delftshaven 176 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Delft— The  "New  Church"  ......    ...     .    180 

Leeu warden — The  Stern  of  a  River  Boat   .      .      .192 

In  a  North  Holland  Tower 200 

H.  M.  Wilhelmina,  Queen  of  the  Netherlands  .,     .212 
A  Dutch  Boer      .      .      .      .-     .      .      ....   222 

Enkhuizen — The  Drommedaris  Tower  ....   226 

Near  Ijilst — A  Typical  North  Holland  Windmill  .  232 
Hindeloopen — The  Little  Green  Staircase  .      .      .   236 

Bolsward — The  Tower    . 240 

One  of  the  Boys — Torment  and  Delight     .      .      .  246 

Sneek — The  Water  Gate ,     ,.,     ,.   250 

Hindeloopen — The  Headdress  .  .  .,  ,.,  .,  .256 
Gorkum — Old  Houses     .      .      .      ...,,.,,.,.   260 

A  Street  in  Leyden ,     .,     .      .   264 

A  Zeeland  Interior  ,      .      .   268 

Model  of  Warship  in  Silver  Repousse  .  .  .,  .  272 
Six  Rare  Examples  of  Sleighs  in  Silver  ....  276 
Krommenie — Over  the  Teacups       .      .      ...   282 


I^oHtntd  of  So-dae 


§6^  m^Mtinds 

^M^HE  name  "Holland,"  as  applied  to  the  little  king- 
CU  dom  on  the  North  Sea,  is  never  used  by  the  Dutch. 
^■^  Holland,  be  it  known,  is  the  term  applied  to  only 
two  of  the  eleven  provinces  of  the  realm,  the  official  name 
of  which  is  "The  Netherlands."  These  two  provinces 
are  respectively  North  Holland  and  South  Holland,  and 
are  collectively  designated  and  known  as  "Holland." 
In  North  Holland  is  Amsterdam,  the  commercial  capital 
of  the  Kingdom,  and  in  South  Holland  is  the  social  and 
diplomatic  center.  The  Hague;  so  perhaps  because  of  a 
careless  familiarity  with  these  important  centers,  the 
whole  country  has  been  miscalled  by  the  foreigner.     At 

29 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

any  rate  the  people  object  to  the  error  and  invariably  cor- 
rect the  mistake,  politely  enough,  be  it  understood,  but 
with  firmness,  and  as  a  rule  in  very  good  English  too,  for 
the  majority  of  the  people  know  some  English  even  if,  as 
the  captain  of  the  Amsterdam  boat  in  the  "Vicar  of 
Wakefield"  averred,  they  are  not  "fond  of  it  to  distrac- 
tion." And  so  at  the  risk  of  offending  many  of  my  Dutch 
friends  I  use  the  term  "Holland"  as  the  title  for  this  book 
for  fear  that  the  correct  designation,  "The  Netherlands," 
may  not  convey  my  meaning  to  the  reader. 

Holland  to-day  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  an  armed 
camp,  from  the  Friesland  border  to  the  Scheldt  River. 
In  .even  the  small  villages  you  hear  the  tread  of  marching 
soldiers,  the  rumble  of  heavy  camions  and  the  rattle  of 
drums.  This  people,  erstwhile  so  apathetic  and  phleg- 
matic, is  now  keenly  alive  to  the  situation.  You  feel 
that  you  are  in  a  country  trembling  upon  the  verge  of  a 
catastrophe,  for  war  would  be  nothing  else  to  Holland. 
The  country  has  been  on  the  very  verge  of  war  for  four 
years,  and  there  is  everywhere  seen  much  more  evidence 
of  war  than  in  countries  actually  engaged  in  the  conflict, 
because  the  army  is  in  or  near  the  cities  in  the  great  camps 
instead  of  at  the  front.  Thus  the  people  and  the  troops 
are  in  daily  contact.  Thousands  and  thousands  of  ref- 
ugees from  Belgium  who  crossed  the  frontier  in  the  first 
months  of  the  war  are  concentrated  in  great  camps  all 
over  the  little  kingdom.     These  refugees  Holland  wel- 

30 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

corned  with  open  arms,  and  ever  since  has  fed  and  clothed 
them  without  a  murmur  of  complaint.  But  now  this 
hitherto  prosperous  land  feels  the  weight  of  the  burden, 
and  for  the  first  time  beggars  throng  her  streets.  Her 
hospitals  are  filled  to  overflowing;  her  almshouses  are 
crowded  beyond  belief,  but  not  a  word  of  complaint  nor 
an  appeal  for  help  has  she  made  to  the  powers. 

At  The  Hague  perhaps  more  than  elsewhere  the  spirit 
of  the  Netherlands  is  seen  to-day.  The  streets  of  this 
erstwhile  immaculate  city  are  crowded  with  guns,  camions 
and  wartime  impedimenta.  The  stately  parks  are  filled 
with  soldiers.  In  all  of  the  wide  streets  companies  are 
ceaselessly  drilling,  and  there  are  maneuvers  and  sham 
battles  taking  place  all  along  the  sand  dunes  which  pro- 
tect the  coast,  and  the  sound  of  heavy  artillery  is  heard 
night  and  day  all  over  the  flat  country;  Holland  is  ready, 
if  necessary,  to  protect  her  neutrality  even  though  the 
armistice  has  been  signed  and  the  peace  council  is  sitting 
at  Paris.^ 

It  might  be  remarked  that  never  was  a  country  in  which 
war  is  so  out  of  place  as  in  the  Netherlands,  land  of  dike 
and  windmill,  of  tulips,  hyacinth  and  cream  cheese. 
You  think  of  it  maybe  as  a  sort  of  fairyland,  but  never 
by  any  chance  as  a  grim  battlefield.  The  peasantry  are 
too  quaint;  the  windmills  too  industrious;  and  over  the 
calm  canals,  reflecting  the  piled-up  clouds,  spreads  such 
evidence  of  peace. 

*  Written  in  February,  1919. 

31 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

Travelers  have  likened  The  Hague  to  Paris  and  to 
Philadelphia;  it  has  some  of  the  characteristics  of  each. 
It  is  certainly  the  richest  of  the  cities  of  the  Netherlands. 
Elsewhere  one  finds  dirt,  smells,  slums  and  squalor.  At 
The  Hague,  however,  the  very  bricks  in  the  neat 
("netjes,"  in  Dutch)  pavement  of  the  streets  are  daily 
scrubbed  and  polished  by  lusty,  red-armed  maids,  and,  it 
is  said,  they  are  "dusted"  each  afternoon  when  they  be- 
come dry.  The  canals  are  shaded  by  large  luxuriantly 
foliaged  trees,  beneath  which  are  charming  vistas.  The 
many  windowed  houses  are  framed  in  clean  white  paint, 
and  the  carved  doorways,  reminding  one  of  old  Philadel- 
phia, are  lavishly  ornamented  with  brightly  polished 
brasses.  It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  Dutch  are 
proud  of  The  Hague,  for  here  are  luxurious  living  and 
quaint  frugality  side  by  side  in  harmony.  Magnificent 
motor  cars,  and  peasant  carts  laden  with  brass  milk  cans 
and  drawn  by  dogs,  throng  the  ways.  Diplomats  and 
peasants  rub  elbows  on  the  clean  narrow  pavements. 
This  clean  new-old  city  is  perhaps  the  only  one  in  the 
Netherlands  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  "fussy" 
traveler.  Here  are  hotels  of  the  first  order,  with  a  cosmo- 
politan array  of  English,  French,  Russian  and  Italian 
waiters,  and  gastronomic  geniuses  in  the  kitchens  who 
know  how  to  cater  to  the  palates  of  the  diplomats  of  all 
nations.  Here  one  is  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Nether- 
lands; the  center  of  the  ancient  history  and  achievement 

32 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

of  the  nation,  as  well  as  the  favorite  residence  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Consort  Prince  Henry.  The  streets  are 
thronged  with  distinguished  looking  people.  The  shops 
are  as  elegant  as  those  of  Paris,  and  the  toilettes  and  cos- 
tumes of  the  ladies  "en  promenade"  in  the  afternoon  are 
of  the  very  latest  fashion. 

The  people  of  The  Hague  are  immensely  proud  of 
their  city  and  of  its  many  attractions.  And  they  are  anx- 
ious that  the  stranger  within  its  gates  shall  not  miss  any 
one  of  them.  On  the  streets  any  of  the  passers-by  will  go 
out  of  his  way  to  direct  the  stranger  in  search  of  its  mani- 
fold wonders,  taking  great  pains  and  manifest  pleasure 
in  careful  guidance,  and  invariably  refusing  remunera- 
tion for  his  trouble.  Here  the  lazy  tourist  is  generally 
content  to  remain  in  comfort,  setting  apart  a  portion  of 
each  day  in  which  to  visit  the  remarkable  monuments  of 
the  town,  sure  of  his  comfortable  bath  in  the  morning,  and 
"dejeuner'^  in  the  French  fashion,  both  of  which  he  has 
found  lacking  elsewhere  in  the  land  of  tulips,  not  to  men- 
tion the  concerts,  communal  fetes  and  like  attractions  to 
be  found  at  Scheveningen,  which  one  of  my  prosaic 
friends  from  New  York  dubbed  "The  Beach."  If  he 
likes  museums  there  is  the  great  historical  Mauritshuis,  in 
which  the  ancient  Princes  of  the  house  of  Orange,  and  the 
"Stadhouder"  William  I  placed  the  nucleus  of  that  won- 
derful collection  of  pictures  now  known  the  world  over. 
Dr.  Bredius,  the  "conservateur"  of  the  museum,  will  wel- 

33 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

come  him  enthusiastically,  and  after  his  visit  the  traveler 
will  depart  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  works  of 
Rembrandt :  the  Lesson  in  Anatomy ;  the  portrait  of  the 
officer;  and  the  Simon  in  the  Temple;  but  if  he  is  wise  he 
will  leave  the  works  of  Jan  Vermeer  de  Delft  for  another 
visit.  The  learned  Doctor  will  not  object  at  all — indeed 
he  will  respect  him  all  the  more,  and  upon  his  next  visit, 
will  offer  him  a  choice  between  Franz  Hals  and  Paul 
Potter,  pointing  out  to  him  the  fact  that  many  other  days 
may  be  spent  there  in  enjoyment  of  the  works  of  Gerard 
Dou,  Franz  Van  Mieris  the  Younger,  Jan  Steen  and, 
later  on,  Rubens  and  Van  Dyck,  to  mention  only  the 
great  names.  There  is  also  the  "Communal  Museum" 
(Gemeente  Museum) ,  not  very  well  known,  but  of  great 
interest  and  importance.  Here  among  a  great  number 
of  canvases,  are  the  famous  works  of  Jan  van  Ravestuyn, 
the  concours  of  Arquebusiers,  and  the  great  chef  d'ceuvre 
of  Van  Goyen,  for  which  the  council  of  state  paid  the 
sum  of  "600  florins."  There  is  also  the  little  known 
'Torte  Drapeau"  of  Quiringh  Gerritz  van  der  Maes. 
Among  the  modern  paintings  the  amateur  will  find  de- 
lightful examples  of  Jacob  Maris,  Gabriel  Metzu, 
Mauve,  Bosboom,  Joseph  Israels,  Mesdag,  and  others  not 
so  well  known.  For  the  bibliophile  there  is  the  Royal 
Library,  housed  in  a  remarkable  edifice  built  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  furnished  with  a  stair- 
case in  the  so-called  "Dutch  style."     I  am  told  that  the 

34 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

building  contains  over  a  half  million  of  volumes,  as  well 
as  collections  of  illuminated  MSS.  on  vellum  "from  the 
tenth  century,"  and  miniatures,  coins  of  the  Netherlands, 
medals,  and  so  on  galore.  The  Chevalier  Steengracht 
van  Duivenvoorde,  whose  splendid  collection  is  well 
housed  in  the  ''Vijverberg,"  his  residence,  admits  strang- 
ers on  presentation  of  their  visiting  cards. 

The  ancient  "Gevangenpoort"  is  likewise  a  museum 
open  to  the  public.  It  is  a  gate  with  gloomy  old  towers 
near  the  "Buitenhof ."  Here  formerly  were  incarcerated 
the  political  prisoners  considered  dangerous  to  the  state, 
and  it  was  here  too  that  the  most  atrocious  murder  in  the 
history  of  the  Netherlands  took  place,  i.e.,  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  Brothers  de  Witt.  In  one  of  the  rooms  is  a 
collection  of  instruments  of  torture  dating  from  a  remote 
period,  some  of  them  of  indescribable  iiendishness  and  in- 
genuity. The  old  ''Binnenhof"  is  sufficiently  ancient  to 
please  the  most  exacting  antiquary.  One  is  told  that  it 
was  "restored'^  in  1250,  and  that  originally  it  was  the 
palace  of  a  count;  that  it  preceded  the  foundation  of  The 
Hague.  (Primitively  it  was  a  hedge  surrounding  the 
palace  which  gave  name  to  The  Hague:  La  Haie.)  A 
number  of  small  gates  give  access  to  the  court  surrounded 
by  these  ancient  edifices.  It  is  in  the  "Salle  Historique" 
of  the  Cavaliers  that  her  majesty  the  Queen  presides  in 
state  at  the  meeting  of  the  "States  General,"  and  here  she 
reads  her  speech  from  the  throne.     Through  the  old  gate 

35 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

of  the  "Stadhouders"  one  passes  from  the  Binnen  (Inner) 
to  the  Buitenhof  (outer)  surrounded  by  the  habitations 
of  the  household  of  the  counts,  the  west  side  of  which  is 
the  "Stadhouders"  quarter,  and  here  all  mirrored  in  the 
*'Vijver"  are  the  ancient  walls  of  the  feudal  castles.  "La 
Justice  de  Dieu"  on  the  very  elegant  "Kneuterdijk," 
the  "Champ  de  Tournois";  the  "Lange  Voorhout";  the 
"Vijverberg"  with  its  superb  masses  of  trees,  and  the 
"Willemspark"  form  a  collection  of  beautiful  gardens 
rarely  to  be  found  in  a  city.  One  might  go  on  for  pages 
without  exhausting  the  attractions  of  The  Hague. 
What  wonder  then  that  it  is  thronged  both  winter  and 
summer  by  tourists  who  "know  nothing  and  care  less"  for 
other  parts  of  this  wonderful  little  kingdom  on  the  North 
Sea. 

Others  there  are  who  love  Amsterdam  so  much  that 
they  make  of  it  a  headquarters  year  by  year.  Vondel,  the 
great  Dutch  poet,  calls  it  "Queen  of  seas  and  fiancee  of 
world  commerce,"  and  affirms  that  its  power  and  riches 
are  without  equal :  that  she  is  "the  center  of  industry,  of 
the  arts  and  the  sciences — in  fact,  of  the  entire  universe"  I 
At  any  rate,  the  city  of  Amsterdam  occupies  the  first  place 
among  the  cities  of  the  Netherlands.  If  Rotterdam  is 
the  great  shipping  port,  then  Amsterdam  is  the  financial 
center,  and  her  Bourse  easily  holds  first  place.  The  town 
is  characterized  by  the  sumptuous  houses  of  the  ancient 
negociants,  with  their  imposing  facades  on  the  aristocratic 

36 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

"grachts,"  occupied  by  successive  generations  of  mer- 
chant princes  and  their  families,  which  gives  the  town  its 
great  charm.  One  may  find  amusement  in  exploring  the 
quaint  circles,  of  which  the  town  is  formed  on  the  Y 
River,  and  which  when  closely  followed  bring  him  back 
to  his  starting  point  in  most  unexpected  fashion.  These 
circles  may  be  enlarged,  but  are  limited  by  the  "Singel," 
the  "Heerengracht,"  the  "Keizers"  and  'Trinsengracht,'* 
the  "Singelgracht."  These  circles  mark  the  various  en- 
largements of  the  town.  The  town  is  traversed  by  the 
river  Amstel  from  north  to  south,  and  is  formed  by  a  hun- 
dred or  more  little  islands  connected  by  more  than  three 
hundred  bridges  which  gave  to  Amsterdam  the  name  of 
"The  Venice  of  the  North."  The  great  part  of  the  traffic 
is  by  these  canals.  In  certain  quarters  of  the  town  the 
backs  of  the  houses  and  the  stores  are  directly  on  the 
water,  and  the  boats  of  quaint  form  are  laden  with  the 
merchandise  amidst  a  scene  of  great  activity  and  with  a 
tremendous  amount  of  noise  and  talk.  In  consequence 
of  all  this  water,  and  the  marshy  land,  when  a  house  is 
,  built  it  necessitates  a  great  foundation  of  long  piles  upon 
which  rest  the  courses  of  brick.  It  is  most  entertaining 
to  watch  this  sort  of  building. 

If  perchance  one  arrives  by  the  Gare  Centrale,  situated 
on  an  island  in  the  Y,  one  is  face  to  face  with  a  great 
avenue  artificially  made,  under  tremendous  difficulty;  al- 
together a  remarkable  piece  of  engineering.     One  passes 

37 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

the  new  Bourse,  or  exchange,  built  by  the  architect  Ber- 
lage,  and  reaches  the  "Dam,"  the  ancient  center  of  the 
town,  and  one  of  the  most  imposing  "places"  in  Europe, 
quite  surrounded  with  decorative  buildings.  Here  is  the 
great  dark  Palais  Royal,  built  by  Jac.  van  Kampen. 
The  flamboyant  Gothic  picturesque  "Nieuwe  Kerk" 
flanks  it  worthily,  containing  much  treasure  in  the  form 
of  painted  glass,  and  great  pictures.  In  its  vaults  repose 
the  ashes  of  Michel  de  Ruyter,  the  Dutch  naval  hero,  and 
the  poet  Joost  van  den  Vondel. 

It  is  on  the  "Dam"  that  the  streets  branch  away  in 
every  direction  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  Of  these  the 
principal  is  the  Kalverstraat,  lined  on  both  sides  with 
shops  of  every  description  calculated  to  attract  the  tour- 
ist; the  ancient  "Burgerweeshuis  (orphan  asylum)  and 
the  strange  and  picturesque  "Bagijnhoif"  (nunnery)  ad- 
join all  this  finery  and  movement  in  striking  contrast. 
One  passes  before  the  old  mint  tower  (muntgebouw) 
with  its  lofty  bulbous  tower  about  which  the  pigeons 
are  circling  in  clouds,  and  follows  the  narrow  street  to 
the  Rembrandtsplein,  with  its  fine  statue  of  the  painter. 
From  here  run  many  streets  in  various  directions,  some  of 
them  along  pretty  canals  which  one  longs  to  explore  in 
leisure  in  a  boat  poled  along  perchance  by  one  of  the 
voluble  red-jacketed  boatmen — a  most  delightful  way 
of  "touring"  Amsterdam,  by  the  way.  Hard  indeed  it  is 
for  one  to  know  just  where  to  end  these  random  notes  of 

38 


Amsterdam — The  Little  Courtyard 


TO-DAY 

the  architect  Ber- 

'  '^t  center  of  the 

^)f  the  n;..  :.  ...  "^^  if'  F1»^AT^f^ 


and  grea 


V,LiV'fi    HIS.C     I  lie    :5UUKC»    i' 


HHi^al  is  the  Kalv^ 


3^ 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

Dutch  byways.  There  is  so  much  to  see,  and  so  many 
strange  and  unusual  things  to  describe.  As  for  the  pal- 
aces, the  museums,  the  churches,  the  pictures :  there  are 
dozens  of  the  first  three,  and  seemingly  miles  of  the  last 
mentioned,  all  set  forth  in  appreciative  and  more  or  less 
truthful  detail  by — who  knows  how  many — guide  books. 
One  of  the  prettiest  of  the  smaller  canals  is  the  "Regu- 
liersgracht,"  and  there  are  large  and  wide  ways  (wegs) 
in  the  aristocratic  quarter  of  the  Amstel,  and  in  the 
"Plantage,"  where  are  the  beautiful  well  kept  gardens  of 
the  Zoological  Society,  and  the  Aquarium.  By  follow- 
ing the  Kalverstraat  to  the  Heiligenweg  and  the  Leid- 
schestraten,  one  comes  to  the  State  Theater  (Stadt- 
schouwburg) .  This  is  the  "chic,"  or  fashionable  quarter, 
with  the  beautiful  ''Vondelpark,"  the  pride  of  Amster- 
dam. One  can  imagine  nothing  more  picturesque  than 
the  maze  of  narrow  and  quaintly  crooked  lanes,  streets 
and  alleyways  surrounding  the  "Oude  Kerk,"  which 
one's  fancy  pictures  the  same  as  in  the  days  of  Rem- 
brandt. Then  too  these  streets  are  thronged  with  people 
in  bizarre  costumes,  for  Marken  and  Volendam  are  quite 
near,  and  of  late  these  towns  have  furnished  most  of  the 
nursemaids  and  domestics.  Now  and  then  one  happens 
upon  the  strangest  of  all  the  costumes,  that  of  the  or- 
phans, whose  dresses  and  bodices  are  one-half  red  and 
one-half  blue,  vertically.  The  boys'  trousers,  however, 
are  not  so  divided  in  color,  both  legs  being  of  dull  black 

39 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

cloth.  These  girls  are  called  "Amsterdamsche  Burger- 
weesmeisjes"  (town  wards)  and  remain  in  the  institution 
until  of  age,  when  they  are  eagerly  sought  as  maidserv- 
ants. The  boys  are  apprenticed  to  tradesmen,  and  be- 
come useful  citizens.  The  Orphanage  was  founded  in 
the  sixteenth  century  by  a  philanthropic  woman  named 
Haasje  Claas,  who  presented  to  the  town  seven  houses 
in  the  Kalverstraat,  and  since  then  the  institution  has 
flourished  and  grown  rich  and  great  by  legacies,  this  being 
a  popular  benefaction  among  the  wealthy  people.  It  is 
said  that  these  orphans  are  so  clad  that  they  may  be  easily 
identified.  Tavern  keepers  are  forbidden  to  harbor 
them,  and  no  orphan  is  permitted  to  leave  the  town  with- 
out a  regularly  written  and  signed  permit. 

One  is  advised  to  patronize  the  dining-rooms  on  the 
Kalverstraat  for  entertainment,  and  certainly  the  advice 
is  good.  There  are  several  of  these  dining  places,  with 
wide-sashed,  lace  hung  windows  giving  on  the  busy 
street,  with  clean  and  delightful  appointments  and  serv- 
ing deliciously  cooked  food ;  at  high  prices,  of  course. 

Here  one  finds  clerics,  the  military  in  full  uniform  and 
decorations,  and  well-to-do  merchants  with  their  families, 
and  well  known  actresses.  Most  of  the  cafes  are,  how- 
ever, of  the  noisier  and  cheaper  order,  with  an  early  table 
d'hote  dinner,  over  which  the  company  will  linger,  drink- 
ing liqueurs  and  smoking  all  the  evening.     The  Kalver- 

40 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

straat  is  closed  to  vehicles  at  a  certain  hour  in  the  evening, 
after  which  only  pedestrians  may  use  it. 

I  was  amused  in  watching  the  erection  of  a  house  in 
this  street.  It  seems  that  the  front  and  rear  walls  are 
not  built  until  the  roof  is  in  place,  in  order  that,  as  one  of 
the  workmen  explained  in  answer  to  my  question,  the  air 
may  dry  the  mortar  in  the  bricks.  The  partitions  are 
never  of  plaster  and  lath  as  we  build  them,  but  of  canvas 
pasted  or  glued  to  the  bricks,  or  to  boards,  after  which  the 
wall  paper  is  pasted  to  the  canvas,  and  the  strange  thing 
about  it  is  that  the  paper  sticks  and  apparently  stays  in 
place.  Nearly  all  the  houses  are  furnished  with  cranes 
projecting  from  the  upper  gables  by  means  of  which 
heavy  articles  may  be  hauled  up  to  and  through  the  win- 
dows, for  the  stairways  are  like  ladders,  both  steep  and 
narrow,  so  that  one  sometimes  feels  like  turning  around 
and  descending  backwards,  as  on  shipboard. 

Smoking  is  an  obsession  in  the  Netherlands.  Pipes 
seem  to  be  used  only  in  the  remote  towns.  Boys  of  ten- 
der age  may  be  seen  in  the  streets  calmly  smoking  long 
cigars  without  attracting  comment.  One  I  saw  walking 
with  his  mother,  smoking  with  a  comical  air  of  experi- 
ence, and  his  mother  objected  not  at  all.  Holland  is 
said  to  be  the  smokers'  paradise,  and  many  quaint  tales 
are  told  of  mighty  smokers  who  dwelt  in  the  Netherlands. 
Of  one  in  particular  it  is  said  that  "His  allowance  was 

41 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

sixteen  ounces  a  day,  an  amount  which  he  never  exceeded, 
and  always  consumed — and  he  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of 
ninety-nine.  From  all  over  the  Netherlands  famous 
smokers  were  invited  to  attend  his  funeral  ceremony. 
To  each  of  these  was  given,  by  his  order,  a  souvenir  pipe 
and  a  pound  of  tobacco  with  a  request  that  the  recipient 
continue  to  smoke  throughout  the  ceremony.  The  de- 
ceased directed  in  his  will  that  both  tobacco  and  matches 
together  with  his  Zeeland  pipe  be  placed  at  his  right  hand 
in  the  coffin,  so  that  he  might  use  them  if  so  minded — "as 
there  was  no  knowing  what  might  come  to  pass."  "For," 
says  Salvation  Yeo,  quaintly  and  eloquently,  "when  all 
things  were  made,  none  was  made  better  than  this  same 
tobacco,  to  be  a  lone  man's  companion,  a  bachelor's 
friend,  a  hungry  man's  food,  a  sad  man's  cordial,  a  wake- 
ful man's  sleep,  and  a  chilly  man's  fire,  sir." 

Holland  is,  most  certainly,  the  Smokers'  Paradise. 

But  it  must  be  understood  that  neither  Amsterdam, 
Rotterdam  nor  The  Hague  gives  the  concrete  character- 
istic idea  of  the  Netherlands.  These  are  cosmopolitan 
cities.  They  are  as  modern  and  commercial  as  cities  can 
well  be  in  so  old  a  country.  For  real  character  one 
should  go  into  the  interior  and  seek  the  smaller  towns, 
wherein  he  will  find  something  of  the  air  of  the  seven- 
teenth or  eighteenth  century.  These  are  really  Dutch, 
and  here  one  finds  quiet,  cleanliness,  and  the  compara- 
tively unaltered  quality  of  ancient  customs. 

42 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

But  the  Dutch  people  are  intensely  proud  of  their 
progress — their  culture,  and  their  modernity.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  Dutch  liner  proudly  pointed  out  to  me,  as  we 
swung  up  to  the  landing  stage  at  Rotterdam,  the  great 
glow  of  electric  lights  of  the  city,  and  above  all  the  flash- 
ing letters  on  a  huge  electric  sign  against  the  sky,  which 
displayed  the  word  "thee"  [tea]  at  dazzling  intervals. 
"Is  not  that  wonderful  to  see  in  Rotterdam"?"  he  asked, 
waving  his  hand.  "Not  bad  for  the  Netherlands — eh? 
That,  sir,  is  on  the  roof  of  the  Witte  Huis,  the  only  'sky- 
scraper' in  Holland — ten  stories  high,  sir — one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  sir!" 

One  has  been  much  amused  at  the  character  of  the  book- 
shops in  the  large  towns.  It  cannot  be  said  truthfully 
that  the  Dutch  are  not  a  reading  people.  Their  news- 
papers are  well  arranged  typographically,  and  the  matter 
printed  is  entirely  sound  and  practical,  but  they  are  al- 
most entirely  given  up  to  commercial  affairs;  literature 
has  little  or  no  place  in  their  columns.  Of  poetry  there 
is  none  whatever  to  be  found  in  the  daily  press. 

I  am  told  that  publishers  rarely  issue  books  on  any 
other  than  the  subscription  plan,  and  that  Dutch  authors 
are  rarely  able  to  live  on  the  product  of  their  pens. 

The  various  bookshops  have  on  sale  piles  of  transla- 
tions of  English,  French  and  Russian  literature  in  both 
cheap  and  expensive  bindings,  and  these  seem  to  find  a 
large  sale  among  the  people.     I  did  not,  however,  find 

43 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

many  Dutch  books  among  these.  Translations  of  Conan 
Doyle  and  Kipling,  and  some  of  Corelli  and  Hall  Caine 
were  displayed,  and  I  noted  a  large  poster  advertising  a 
book,  published  in  weekly  parts,  with  the  title  of  "De 
Wilsons  en  de  Ring  van  den  Doods,"  which  was  attract- 
ing much  attention,  so  the  shopkeeper  informed  me.  I 
bought  a  copy  for  a  few  Dutch  cents,  but  somehow  I  lost 
it,  so  I  don't  know  what  sort  of  a  ''Ring  of  the  Dead"  it 
was,  or  whether  it  referred  in  any  way  to  the  history  or 
accomplishments  of  our  great  President  or  not.  There 
were  some  books  of  poetry  by  Vondel,  and  by  Jacob  Cats, 
the  latter  a  man  of  great  culture  and  a  renowned  jurist, 
who  was  twice  ambassador  to  England,  "where  Charles  I 
laid  his  sword  on  his  shoulder  and  bade  him  rise  Sir 
Jacob." 

The  Quarterly  Review  printed  long  ago  an  account  of 
him — "Vondel  had  for  his  contemporary  a  man  of  whose 
popularity  (in  Holland)  we  can  hardly  give  an  idea,  un- 
less we  say  that  to  speak  Dutch  and  to  have  learnt  Cats 
by  heart,  are  almost  the  same  thing" — and  goes  on  to  de- 
scribe his  characteristics:  "An  honest  graybeard  who 
stuck  to  his  paternities  ...  his  moralities  are  sometimes 
prolix,  and  sometimes  rather  dull.  He  often  sweeps  the 
bloom  away  from  the  imaginative  anticipations  of  youth 
— and  in  that  does  little  service.  .  .  .  He  has  no  other 
notion  of  love  than  that  it  is  meant  to  make  good  hus- 
bands and  wives,  and  to  produce  painstaking  and  obedi- 

44 


THE  NETHERLANDS 

ent  children.  .  .  .  His  volumes  are  a  storehouse  of  pru- 
dence and  worldly  wisdom.  .  .  .  For  the  nurse  who 
wants  a  song  for  her  babe — the  boy  who  is  tormented  by 
the  dread  of  the  birch  rod — the  youth  whose  beard  begins 
to  grow,  there  is  a  store  of  verse  to  console  and  be  grate- 
ful for.  The  titles  of  his  works  are  indices  to  their  con- 
tents: "De  Ouderdom"  (Old  Age),  "Buijten  Leven" 
(Out  of  Doors  Life),  "Hofgeadachten"  (Garden 
Thoughts),  "Gedachten  op  Slapelooze  Nachten" 
(Thoughts  of  Sleepless  Nights),  ''Trouwring"  (Marriage 
Ring).  "Never  perhaps  was  a  poet  so  essentially  the 
poet  of  the  people." 

Old  Oom  Paul  of  South  Africa  is  said  to  have  known 
the  verse  of  Vader  Cats  by  heart.  It  is  said  too  that  they 
closely  resembled  one  another  in  appearance,  and  this  is 
most  interesting  if  true ;  for  their  mode  of  expression  in 
homely  yet  most  vivid  metaphor  was  much  the  same. 
Jacob  Cats*  house  ''Sorgh  Vliet"  still  stands  among  the 
great  trees  on  the  Scheveningen  Weg,  perhaps  the  pleas- 
antest  road  in  Holland;  lately  it  has  been  the  residence 
of  a  Royal  Duke.  It  bears  the  date  1666,  and  the  name 
of  its  projector  Constantine  Huygens,  a  poet  and  states- 
man. "Sorgh  Vliet"  means  "Without  Care."  And  here 
old  Jacob  Cats  lived  two  hundred  years  ago :  his  memory 
is  still  held  sacred  in  all  Dutch  households. 


45 


(S(itirdrtfri0tir0 


tHE  first  impression  that  the  traveler  in  Holland 
gets  is  in  one  respect  similar  to  that  given  by  the 
far  western  prairie  regions ;  and  the  broad  wind- 
swept flat  country,  with  comparatively  few  trees,  and 
lying  open  to  the  gales  of  the  North  Sea,  has  a  little  of 
the  same  bare  aspect.  But  with  this  is  mingled  a  most 
decided  aspect  of  novelty.  Here  the  fields  are  cultivated 
with  the  care  of  suburban  market  gardens,  and  are  sep- 
arated by  long,  V-shaped  ditches,  through  which  the  water 
runs  sluggishly  some  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Looking  across  them,  one  sees  broad,  brown 
velvety-hued  sails  moving  in  various  directions  among 
the  growing  crops;  the  roadway  is  on  an  embankment, 
running  high  above  the  land,  frequently  crossing  canals, 
lying  far  enough  below  for  the  brightly  painted,  well- 
laden  barges  with  lowered  masts  to  pass  freely,  generally 
without  the  need  of  draw-bridges.  The  trekschuiten,  or 
passenger  boats,  once  so  common  in  the  canals,  are  fast 
disappearing;  like  the  diligences,  they  have  been  replaced 
by  the  system  of  tram-cars  which  now  cross  the  country, 
but  here  and  there  this  old-fashioned  means  of  communi- 

46 


CHARACTERISTICS 

cation  between  the  towns  and  villages  still  survives,  and 
it  is  certainly  a  delightful  experience  to  make  a  journey 
on  market  day  in  one  of  these  arks.  It  is  generally  a  long 
and  rather  narrow  boat,  low  in  the  water,  and  usually 
painted  green  and  white,  with  a  low-roofed  deck-cabin 
divided  into  two  compartments  running  the  entire  length, 
with  clean  board-seats,  and  tiny  lace-curtained  windows, 
the  floor  scrubbed  with  sand  until  it  is  almost  as  white  as 
snow.  The  roof  is  covered  with  a  mixture  of  sand  and 
pulverized  shells  on  a  foundation  of  bitumen  to  hold  it. 
It  is  most  delightful  to  sail  or  be  pulled  along  by  "boy 
power"  through  the  country  between  the  "pollarded 
green  banks"  and  look  upon  the  changing  landscape — 
"Dutch  pictures  untouched,"  as  some  one  has  aptly  de- 
scribed them — and  the  brown-armed  mills  in  legions  en- 
gaged in  battle  against  the  water  enemy.  It  will  be 
readily  understood  that  the  dykes  are  a  very  important 
feature  of  the  country,  and  some  of  these  are  well  worth 
examination  and  study,  if  the  visitor  have  plenty  of  time 
on  his  hands.  For  the  most  part  these  dykes  are  com- 
posed of  earth  and  sand  and  clay,  kept  together  by  wil- 
lows which  are  carefully  planted  and  tended.  Some  of 
the  dykes,  however,  for  example  the  gigantic  one  at  the 
Helder,  are  built  of  masonry.  Many  of  them  are  broad 
at  the  top,  and,  being  paved  with  klinkers  (brick) ,  form 
very  good  carriage  roads.  The  dunes  or  sand  hills  which 
line  the  coast  serve  as  the  barrier  against  the  ocean. 

47 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

They  are  systematically  sown  at  regular  intervals  with  a 
coarse,  grayish  green  grass,  which  holds  the  sand  together, 
preventing  the  wind  from  blowing  it  away  altogether. 
Some  six  million  guilders  are  spent  annually  by  the 
Dutch  government  in  keeping  these  dykes  in  order,  and  a 
special  body  of  engineers,  called  "De  Waterstaat,"  is  ap- 
pointed to  look  after  them.  An  elaborate  system  of 
drainage  has  also  to  be  maintained  by  means  of  powerful 
engines,  windmills,  etc.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Dutch  people  have  not  only  to  fight  against  the  inroads 
of  the  ocean,  but  they  have  also  to  deal  with  many  rivers 
which,  taking  their  rise  in  other  countries,  flow  through 
Holland  for  their  final  exit  into  the  sea.  Consequently, 
when  there  are  heavy  rains,  say  in  Germany,  the  Rhine 
brings  down  an  immense  volume  of  water  to  add  to  the 
troublesome  superfluity.  The  two  principal  canals  are 
the  North  Holland  Canal,  which  was  constructed  in 
1819-25,  from  Amsterdam  to  the  Helder,  and  which  is 
forty-six  miles  in  length,  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet 
broad,  and  twenty  feet  in  depth,  and  of  a  width  varying 
from  sixty-five  to  one  hundred  and  ten  yards.  Here  are 
locks,  consisting  of  large  basins,  which  are  tremendous 
pieces  of  engineering.  Their  construction  cost  the  State 
an  enormous  sum.  The  Merwede  Canal  has  an  average 
width  of  about  one  hundred  feet,  and  is  something  like 
forty-four  miles  in  length. 

The  climate  of  Holland  is  similar  to  that  of  England 

48 


CHARACTERISTICS 

for  Spring,  Summer  and  Autumn,  save  that  it  is  warmer 
in  the  Summer  and  the  cold  is  much  more  severe  in  Win- 
ter. August  is  the  hot  month  and  the  least  preferable. 
During  the  Spring  the  country  round  about  Haarlem 
presents  an  aspect  of  indescribable  patchworks  of  great 
sheets  of  color.  These  are  the  tulip  and  hyacinth  beds, 
vivid  and  beautiful,  but  the  bulbs  are  grown  for  profit, 
not  pleasure,  and  economy  of  space  is  carefully  studied. 
Holland  has  a  relatively  low  rainfall,  accounted  for  by 
the  absence  of  heights  to  attract  rain-clouds.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  experienced  traveler  does  well  to  pro- 
vide himself  with  mackintosh  and  umbrella,  for  the  show- 
ers, though  brief,  are  frequent. 

The  guilder,  or  florin,  is  the  common  basis  of  the  Dutch 
currency.  Commonly  called  a  guilder,  plural  gulden 
[pronounced  hulda],  it  is  always  written  "f"  for  florin, 
thus  65.00,  f.  1.25,  etc.  The  decimal  system  is  used. 
There  are  one  hundred  cents  in  a  guilder.  The  half 
guilder  and  quarter  guilder  are  as  common  as  our  fifty- 
cent  pieces  and  quarters.  It  may  be  well  here  to  embody 
a  few  dry  facts  and  figures  relating  to  this  wonderful 
little  country;  they  need  not,  however,  be  read  unless  one 
is  so  inclined,  but  they  are  necessary  to  a  proper  under- 
standing, and  for  reference  if  required. 

Self-government  is  a  part  of  the  life  instinct  of  the 
methodical  Hollanders,  and  was  at  the  root  of  the  coun- 
try's antagonism  to  Spain.     With  an  inborn  love  of  ad- 

49 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ministering  their  own  affairs,  they  combine  a  respect  for 
established  constitutional  authority  and  a  deep  inherent 
reverence  for  their  sovereign. 

The  country  is  divided  into  1,1 00  communes — urban 
or  rural  districts.  The  enfranchised  inhabitants  elect 
the  communal  council,  or  "Gemeente  Raad,"  which  holds 
office  for  six  years,  and  is  presided  over  by  a  burgomaster. 
The  latter,  however,  is  nominated  by  the  sovereign.  In 
authority  over  the  "Gemeente  Raad"  is  the  Provincial 
States,  also  a  popularly-elected  body,  presided  over  by  a 
commissary  appointed  by  the  crown.  The  duties  of  the 
Provincial  States  are  administrative  in  their  own  state 
only.     The  members  hold  office  for  six  years. 

Above  the  Provincial  States  are  the  ''States  General," 
consisting  of  two  chambers.  The  First  or  Upper  House 
(fifty  members  holding  office  for  nine  years)  receives  its 
election  from  the  members  of  the  Provincial  States.  The 
other,  commonly  called  The  Chamber,  is  elected  by  the 
people.  Over  the  second  chamber  sits  a  President,  ap- 
pointed by  the  sovereign.  Here  all  national  legislative 
business  is  transacted,  and  bills  intended  to  become  law 
are  prepared  and  sent  up  to  the  First  Chamber.  The 
latter  cannot  propose  measures  on  its  own  initiative. 
The  Executive  or  Cabinet  consists  of  ten  ministers,  each 
chosen  by  the  sovereign,  usually  from  the  Lower  House, 
for  the  Premier  must  always  be  a  member  of  "The  Cham- 
ber."    The  portfolios  are  as  follows:     Finance,  Justice, 

50 


CHARACTERISTICS 

Foreign  Affairs,  Marine,  Interior  or  Home,  War,  Public 
Works,  Waterways,  Trade  and  Industry,  Agriculture 
and  Labor,  Colonies. 

In  addition  to  governing  by  ministers,  the  sovereign 
elects  the  "Raad  van  Staat,"  a  body  somewhat  higher 
than  the  Privy  Council  of  England,  for  it  has  powers 
by  which  it  deals  with  (i)  government  bills  brought 
before  "De  Kamer"  (the  Lower  House)  and  (2)  private 
bills  awaiting  royal  sanction.  Although  elected  for  the 
respected  terms  named  above,  one-third  of  the  members 
of  the  "Gemeente  Raad,"  the  Provincial  States  and  "De 
Kamer"  retire  automatically  every  two  or  three  years, 
but  are  eligible  for  re-election. 

The  army  service  is  maintained  partly  voluntarily  and 
partly  by  conscription,  determined  by  a  ballot.  Exemp- 
tions are  allowed  to  sons  of  indigent  parents  and  other 
special  cases.  According  to  the  nearest  authority  at 
hand,  the  strength  of  the  peace-footing  is  1,950  officers 
and  25,000  men.  For  war  the  numbers  would  be  im- 
mediately raised  to  126,000,  with  50,000  auxiliaries. 

For  the  national  budget,  the  following  are  some  of  the 
figures,  omitting  the  cost  of  the  army  and  navy,  which, 
combined,  absorb  only  three  and  three-quarter  millions, 
paid  for  by  separate  taxation.  In  1904-05  expenditure 
exceeded  income,  a  most  unusual  occurrence  in  Holland, 
but  the  national  debt  was  reduced  by  two  and  one-half 
millions.     The  imports  are  a  little  under  two  hundred 

51 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

million  sterling,  including  twenty  millions  from  the 
United  Kingdom.  The  exports  are  170  millions,  in- 
cluding thirty-eight  millions  to  the  United  Kingdom. 

Of  the  religion  of  the  population  of  Holland,  about 
three-fifths  are  Protestants  and  two-fifths  Roman  Cath- 
olics. There  are  about  one  hundred  thousand  Jews,  of 
whom  nearly  one-half  are  in  Amsterdam.  The  Protes- 
tants are  subdivided  into  innumerable  sects,  the  chief 
being  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  This  is  the  State 
Church,  but  is  disestablished. 

The  national  census  of  the  population  is  taken  every 
ten  years.  The  following  are  the  figures  for  the  last 
three  decadal  periods : 

December  31,  1889 4,549,000 

December  31,  1899 5,104,137 

December  31,  1909 5,347,181 

There  are  only  four  towns,  according  to  the  last  census, 
with  populations  exceeding  one  hundred  thousand, 
namely : 

Amsterdam   568,000 

The  Hague  and  Scheveningen 270,000 

Rotterdam 418,000 

Utrecht 292,000 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  money.  Before  going  to 
Holland,  the  traveler  would  better  make  himself 
acquainted  thoroughly  with  the  mysteries  of  the  Dutch 
coinage,  and  learn  the  names  by  heart.     The  stranger 

52 


CHARACTERISTICS 

is  rather  apt  to  treat  the  guilder,  which  is  the  principal 
coin,  too  much  as  if  it  were  equivalent  to  an  English 
shilling,  but  he  will  find  that  the  balance  will  come  out 
on  the  wrong  side,  as  the  guilder  equals  is.  8d.  Then 
the  "dubbeltje,"  a  silver  coin  representing  two-pence  and 
looking  not  unlike  our  old-fashioned  three-cent  piece, 
long  since  recalled  from  circulation,  is  so  ridiculously  tiny 
that  one  loses  sight  of  its  real  value.  The  following 
are  the  names  of  the  Dutch  pieces  now  in  circulation: 
Halve  Stuyver,  Stuyver,  Dubbeltje,  Kwartje  or  Vijfje 
— Halve  Gulden,  Gulden,  Rijksdaalde,  Gouden  Wil- 
lem  or  Tientje.     This  last  coin  is  of  gold. 

Notes  are  also  issued  for  10,  25,  40,  50  Guilders,  and 
upwards. 

The  traveler  will  say  that  the  less  said  about  the  Dutch 
language  the  better  for  him.  He  will  undoubtedly  find 
it  most  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  But  one  great  ad- 
vantage in  choosing  Holland  as  a  holiday  resort  is  that 
the  majority  of  the  Dutch  people  know  some  English, 
and  as  a  rule  they  are  proud  of  their  knowledge  and  pre- 
fer to  use  it  whenever  possible.  They  appear  to  be  able 
to  learn  foreign  languages  with  great  facility,  for  even 
among  the  lowest  orders,  many  may  be  found  who  speak 
several  languages  besides  their  own.  This  may  be 
partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  their  own  language 
is  so  difficult  and  so  little  understood  out  of  the  Nether- 
lands that  the  Dutch  in  self-defense  are  obliged  to  ac- 

53 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

quire  the  tongues  of  other  nations  in  order  to  compete  in 
business. 

Dutch  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  lan- 
guages to  acquire,  being  more  guttural  than  German, 
which  it  somewhat  resembles,  and  it  may  be  classed  by 
the  student  as  a  lower  Frankish  dialect.  According  to 
the  best  authorities  it  existed  as  early  as  the  thirteenth 
century.  It  has  developed  a  strong  individuality,  is  ex- 
pressive and  devoid  of  the  character  of  patois,  such  as 
hampers  the  Flemish  tongue.  It  has  incorporated  words 
of  foreign  origin  less,  perhaps,  than  any  other  of  the  low 
countries,  and  is  of  a  remarkable  richness  and  flexibility. 
Its  literature  is  rich  and  vigorous,  as  may  be  recognized 
by  the  following  verse  from  a  favorite  song : 

Wien  Neerlandsch  bloed  in  de  aderen  vloeit 

Van  vreemde  smetten  vrij, 
Wiens  hartvoorland  en  Koning  gloeit, 

Verhef  den  zang  als  wij : 
Hij  stel  met  ons,  vereend  vanzin, 

Met  onbeklemde  borst, 
Het  godgevallig  feestlied  in 

Voor  Vaderland  en  Vorst. — Tollens. 
(Literal  translation:  "Let  him,  in  whose  veins  flows  Nether- 
landish blood,  free  from  foreign  stain,  and  whose  heart  glows  for 
country  and  king,  raise  the  song  with  us,  united  in  sentiment,  with 
unburdened  breast,  in  the  festal  song  pleasing  to  God,  the  Father- 
land and  Sovereign.") 

The  vowels,  a,  e,  i,  o,  u  are  pronounced  as  in  French, 
and  are  lengthened,  but  not  altered  in  sound,  by  being 

54 


CHARACTERISTICS 

doubled  (thus  ooo) ;  ei  and  ij,  or  y,  are  like  the  vowel 
sound  in  the  French  pays ;  au  and  ou  like  ow  in  now,  but 
broader  (aw-oo) ;  eu  like  the  French  eu  or  the  German  o; 
oe  like  the  English  oo  or  the  German  u;  ui  has  a  sound 
fluctuating  between  oi  and  ow  (as  in  now).  In  most 
other  combinations  of  vowels  each  retains  its  usual  sound. 
All  the  consonants  are  pronounced  as  in  English,  except  g 
and  ch,  which  have  a  guttural  sound  like  the  g  in  the  Ger- 
man Tag;  w,  which  is  pronounced  like  v;  j  like  the  Eng- 
lish y  or  ee;  and  v  like  f.  Final  n  is  often  dropped  in 
colloquial  speech  (e.  g.,  Leyde'  for  Leyden,  Marke'  or 
Marriker  for  Marken) . 

The  definite  article  is  de  for  the  masculine  and  fem- 
inine, and  het  for  the  neuter;  genitive  des,  der,  or  van 
den,  van  de,  van  het;  dative  den,  der,  het,  or  aan  den,  aan 
de,  aan  het;  plural  for  all  genders  de,  der,  den.  The 
Dutch  are  great  sticklers  for  correctness  of  form  in  ad- 
dressing each  other,  especially  among  the  upper  classes. 
Thus,  for  example,  a  titled  person  is  "U,"  properly  "Uwe 
Edele,"  (Your  Lordship)  with  the  addition  of  Mynheer. 
They  always  address  a  married  lady  as  "Mevrouw"  (pro- 
nounced "Mefrow") . 

A  young  unmarried  lady  is  addressed  as  "Mejuffrouw" 
—  (Mee-you-frow)  "Juffrouwe,"  (You-Frow)  is  used 
only  in  addressing  shopwomen,  servant  maids  or  others 
of  low  social  position.  "Freule"  is  the  term  used  for  a 
young  lady  of  title,  or  one  of  noble  birth.     The  sti;jinger 

55 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

is  advised  to  be  very  careful  in  these  matters  so  as  not  to 
give  offense,  and  he  should  invariably  prefix  his  address 
with  the  words  *'Alst  U  belieft,"  (pronounced  rapidly 
"Assher  bleef.")  This  is  simply  "If  you  please"  in  our 
tongue,  and  indeed  seems  to  work  wonders  in  smoothing 
the  traveler's  pathway  through  the  Netherlands.  At 
least,  this  has  been  my  own  experience. 

Amsterdam  is  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  and  The 
Hague  is  the  official  residence  of  the  Queen  and  Consort, 
although  they  sometimes  occupy  the  "House  in  the 
Wood,"  or  "Huis  ten  Bosche  and  Het  Loo."  The  Neth- 
erlands are  divided  into  eleven  provinces:  North  Bra- 
bant, the  capital  of  which  is  Hertogenbosch;  Drenthe,  the 
capital  of  which  is  Assen;  Friesland,  capital  Leeuwar- 
den;  Guelderland,  capital  Arnhem;  Groningen,  capital 
Groningen;  North  Holland,  capital  Amsterdam;  South 
Holland,  The  Hague;  Limburg,  Maastricht;  Over-Yssel, 
capital  Zwolle;  Utrecht,  capital  Utrecht;  Zeeland,  cap- 
ital Middleburg.  Besides  these  provinces,  the  district 
of  Luxemborg,  210,000  inhabitants,  capital  of  the  same 
name,  is  a  Duchy  under  the  crown.  The  most  important 
Dutch  colonies  in  the  East  Indies  are  Java,  Sumatra, 
Borneo,  and  Celebes;  in  the  West  Indies,  Surinam,  St. 
Eustache  and  Curasao ;  to  which  must  be  added  a  number 
of  factories  or  state  holdings  of  Guiana.  The  total  area 
of  these  possessions  amounts  to  766,000  square  miles,  and 
the  population  to  28-29,000,000  souls.     As  near  as  one 

^6 


CHARACTERISTICS 

can  find  out,  the  navy  contains  in  the  neighborhood  of  150 
vessels,  of  which  only  a  few  are  of  the  first  class,  com- 
manded by  two  vice-admirals,  four  rear-admirals, 
"  'schouten-by-nacht,"  26  captains,  35  commanders,  and 
manned  by  upwards  of  75,000  hands. 

Holland,  Pays  Bas,  the  Netherlands,  or  whatever 
name  one  chooses  to  call  it,  is  certainly  one  of  the  remark- 
able regions  of  the  world.  Here  man  is  indebted  to  na- 
ture for  very  little.  Napoleon,  pretending  that  the  soil 
was  formed  of  alluvial  deposits,  the  debris  of  French  riv- 
ers, annexed  the  whole  region,  with  a  perfect  realization 
of  its  vast  value.  But  the  great  plains  intersected  by 
rivers,  while  formed  as  he  claimed,  are  yet  the  handiwork 
of  the  patient  and  industrious  Dutchman.  The  sea  does 
his  bidding,  and  wind  is  under  his  control.  Foreign  writ- 
ers, not  understanding  his  great  qualities,  have  ridiculed 
him,  but  he  has  never  been  affected  by  such  criticism. 

The  very  laws  of  nature  have  here  been  reversed,  for, 
disregarding  the  injunction,  every  house  is  builded  upon 
the  sand,  and  the  whole  coast  is  held  together  practically 
by  straws.  There  being  little  or  no  wood  in  the  country, 
whole  forests  have  been  brought  hither  in  ships,  and  bur- 
ied as  pile  foundations  for  the  cities.  Save  in  the  Island 
of  Urk  in  the  Zuyderzee  (Sowdersay),  there  is  not  a 
native  stone  to  be  found  anywhere,  yet  artificial  moun- 
tains (almost)  have  been  brought  in  vessels  from  Sweden 
and  Norway  and  in  the  most  masterful  and  ingenious 

57 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

manner  erected  as  barriers  against  the  encroachment  of 
the  sea.  The  vast  array  of  windmills  over  the  country 
exact  toll  from  the  very  air,  and  rivers  are  made  to  course, 
and  trees  are  made  to  grow  exactly  where  they  are  needed. 
Water,  air  and  earth  thus  under  control  have  made  for 
the  greatness  of  the  Netherlands,  which  though  of  com- 
paratively insignificant  area,  has  an  historical  interest 
greater  than  countries  of  larger  dimensions.  Forced  to 
keep  perpetual  watch  against  the  forces  of  nature,  she  has 
had  likewise  in  the  past  to  make  heroic  resistance  against 
foreign  aggression.  To  the  American  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Netherlands  has  special  attractions.  Our  laws,  or 
rather  the  best  of  them,  are  based  upon  hers,  and  she  has 
ever  been  a  refuge  to  the  oppressed.  Liberty  of  thought 
and  action  she  insists  upon  for  all,  as  our  own  Pilgrim 
Fathers  found  at  Delfshaven.  In  many  ways  the  Dutch 
have  made  man  their  debtor.  Her  sons  have  been  illus- 
trious in  art,  in  science  and  in  polemics,  and  in  geograph- 
ical research  and  discoveries  she  certainly  holds  an  ex- 
alted place.  In  art  she  is  supreme.  It  was  a  Hollander 
who  invented  the  mariner's  compass,  a  spectacle-maker  of 
Middelburg  who  invented  the  telescope,  a  Dutch  physi- 
cian, Cornelius  Van  Deebbel,  made  the  thermometer.  It 
is  stated  and  claimed  that  Coster  of  Haarlem  invented 
wooden  type,  and  that  the  first  newspaper  printed  in 
Europe  appeared  in  the  Dutch  language. 

Among  other  great  men  Holland  has  produced  the 

58 


CHARACTERISTICS 

author  of  a  work  that  has  perhaps  a  more  extended  cir- 
culation than  any  other  book,  Thomas  a  Kempis.  Eras- 
mus, Grotius  and  Spinoza,  too,  are  recalled  to  mind. 
The  prophet  John  of  Leyden  and  the  New  Jerusalem 
Church,  the  sects  of  the  Moravians,  and  the  Jansenists 
had  here  their  origin.  Ever  the  sanctuary  of  the  re- 
former, Holland  was  noted  for  its  tolerance  of  opinion, 
while  in  England  and  elsewhere  those  who  differed  from 
the  party  in  power  were  consigned  to  the  gallows  and  the 
stake.  The  regicides  of  King  Charles  I  found  refuge  in 
Holland,  and  here  too  Charles  II  and  the  unfortunate 
Royalists  sought  shelter  after  Worcester  Field.  Lord 
Shaf tsbury  fled  hither  from  England  to  avoid  the  penalty 
of  high  treason,  and  died  in  peace  at  Amsterdam.  Here 
John  Locke,  under  distinguished  patronage,  wrote  and 
circulated  his  great  essay,  ''Concerning  the  Human  Un- 
derstanding." 

One  might  indeed  continue  for  pages  without  exhaust- 
ing the  list,  but  it  is  Holland  of  to-day  with  which 
we  are  now  concerned.  The  visitor  will  find  that  Hol- 
land is  a  land  which  he  will  respect,  as  well  as  admire,  for 
its  picturesque  quality.  There  being  no  mountains, 
there  are  consequently  no  valleys.  Each  town  and  vil- 
lage will  oifer  to  the  traveler  a  quality  and  charm  of  its 
own,  the  engineer,  the  agriculturist  and  the  artist  will 
find  everywhere  food  for  thought  and  study.  Nowhere 
else  can  such  pictures  be  found  as  those  in  the  galleries  of 

59 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

The  Hague  and  Amsterdam.  Nowhere  else  can  such 
stupendous  engineering  problems  be  studied;  and  the 
Dutch  farm  is  perfection.  As  to  the  living,  it  need 
hardly  be  stated  here  that  in  Holland  the  mutton  and  fish 
are  of  fine  quality,  and  while  the  style  of  cooking  is  not 
always  that  to  which  one  is  accustomed,  still  one  may  al- 
ways find  a  good  meal  to  be  had,  even  in  the  remote  dis- 
tricts, while  in  the  large  towns  and  cities  the  hotels  are 
equal  to  those  of  any  country.  Much,  however,  cannot 
be  said  of  the  water;  it  is  generally  drinkable,  but  charged 
waters  are  inexpensive  and  abundant  and  are  recom- 
mended to  the  traveler  in  preference  to  that  derived  from 
the  housetops. 

As  to  wine,  those  of  the  Rhine  and  Moselle  are  not 
dear,  fairly  good  port  is  to  be  had,  and  the  beer  is  good, 
though  sour  to  the  taste.  So  that  one  may  live  as  com- 
fortably and  as  inexpensively  in  the  Netherlands  as  in 
America,  and  it  may  be  said  further  that  nowhere  on  the 
Continent  will  the  traveler  be  better  served  and  enter- 
tained. The  men  are  kind-hearted  if  somewhat  re- 
served, and  the  women,  while  shy,  will  cheerfully  accord 
one  civility.  The  children  are  sometimes  too  curious  and 
obtrusive,  especially  in  the  tourist  regions,  but  they  arc 
all  kindly  disposed. 

Although  the  Dutch  are  a  very  religious  people,  they 
seem  to  take  an  especial  delight  in  the  name  "protestant," 
and  certainly  they  have  shown  a  remarkable  efficiency  in 

60 


CHARACTERISTICS 

protesting  against  and  taking  from  their  religion  nearly 
every  possible  aspect  of  grace  and  artistic  charm.  Be  the 
church  ever  so  beautiful,  and  there  are  countless  numbers 
of  beautiful  churches  all  over  the  Netherlands,  they  seem 
to  have  exhibited  almost  a  frenzy  in  stripping  it  of  every 
removable  object  that  formerly  embellished  it;  where  it 
was  not  possible  to  remove  the  great  altar  screens,  they 
have  scraped  off  all  the  carvings  within  reach,  and  white- 
washed the  whole  structure.  All  such  architectural  em- 
bellishments they  must  have  deemed  "pagan";  there 
could  be  no  other  reason  for  their  actions.  Their  great 
churches  are  also  surrounded  by  quaint  little  tile-roofed 
houses  and  shops  built  against  the  gray  old  gothic  walls. 
Being  a  matter-of-fact  and  intensely  practical  people, 
they  are  surprised  when  one  objects  to  this  on  sentimental 
grounds,  and  reply  that  these  buildings  bring  in  a  very 
comfortable  revenue  to  the  church  and  help  to  pay  the 
stipends  of  the  clergy  and  assistants.  Certainly  the  artist 
cannot  object  to  the  picturesque  grouping  of  these  bizarre 
constructions,  whatever  the  antiquary  may  say. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  great  churches  in  the  Netherlands 
that  of  Nymwegen,  the  "Groote  Kerk"  of  St.  Stephen,  is 
the  most  beset  and  thus  disfigured  by  these  small  houses 
which  hem  it  in  on  all  sides  so  that  one  finds  the  entrance 
with  some  difficulty.  The  vast  interior  is  as  usual  dese- 
crated by  whitewash  and  furthermore  a  most  hideous 
construction  of  wooden  walls  obstructs  the  nave,  so  that 

61 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

really  it  is  a  ''meeting  house"  built  inside  the  walls  of  the 
church.  I  have  not  met  with  such  an  example  of  Prot- 
estantism (if  I  may  so  style  it)  elsewhere. 

The  great  tower  with  its  bulbs  and  bold  ornamenta- 
tion surmounting  the  unfinished  summit  is  a  most  im- 
pressive feature  of  the  market-place,  but  the  clustering 
chimney  stacks  send  forth  showers  of  soot  which  sadly 
defile  the  old  buttresses.  The  interiors  of  these  huge 
structures  all  over  the  Netherlands  are  almost  invariably 
whitewashed,  and  many  of  the  wonderful  carved  benches, 
whereon  the  cardinal  princes  formerly  sat  enrobed  in  silks 
and  lace,  are  now  painted  a  sickly  yellow  and  grained  in 
simulation  [  *?]  of  new  oak. 

The  congregations  on  Sunday  resemble  gatherings  of 
Quakers — even  to  the  singular  custom  on  the  part  of  the 
men  in  wearing  their  hats.  The  effect  of  these  somber 
gatherings  of  grim-faced  men  beneath  the  exquisite 
gothic  arches  is  most  incongruous  and  chilling  to  a  de- 
gree: at  least  so  it  has  always  seemed  to  me,  and  not 
even  the  glories  of  the  stained  and  painted  windows 
with  their  wondrous  tones  of  azure,  saffron  and  vermilion 
has  served  to  remove  the  chill. 

Thus  one  recalls  the  great  church  at  Gouda;  that  of 
Haarlem  with  its  wonderful  organ  and  the  lines  of  hang- 
ing models  of  ancient  ships ;  the  church  at  Delft  with  the 
magnificent  tomb  of  William  the  Silent;  all  of  these  are 
great  architectural  monuments,   renowned   in  history. 

62 


Leeuwarden — The  Old  Church 


it  msu 

mpie  ot 

)uibs  and 


bed  in  silks 
■^^^^  ^  and  grained  ii; 

;n  Sunday  resemble  gatherings  of 

ir  hat 


history. 


AtitwAO  UO  bAT — w^Vmuwu^^J. 


CHARACTERISTICS 

Perhaps  this  desecration  may  be  laid  at  the  door  of  Eras- 
mus of  Rotterdam,  to  whom  is  ascribed  the  parentage  of 
the  Reformation. 

Fell,  the  friend  of  "Elia"  (Charles  Lamb)  is  credited 
with  a  desire  to  hear  the  great  organ  of  Haarlem,  and 
paid  a  "ducat"  to  the  organist  and  a  half  crown  to  the 
blower  for  the  privilege.  He  described  the  sound  of  the 
"vox  humana"  as  "the  voice  of  a  psalm  singing  clerk," 
and  left  in  disgust.  The  great  Handel  on  one  occasion, 
it  is  said,  "fingered  the  stops  with  such  skill,  that  the 
amazed  listeners  hearing  the  wondrous  sounds  fled  the 
building  saying  that  he  was  either  angel  or  devil."  This 
great  organ,  built  in  1735  by  Christopher  Muller,  was 
formerly  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  is  perhaps  even 
now  the  most  powerful.  It  has  three  keyboards,  sixty 
stops,  and  five  thousand  pipes,  the  largest  of  which  is  said 
to  be  thirty-two  feet  long,  and  fifteen  inches  in  diameter. 

Mozart  too,  when  a  mere  boy,  is  said  to  have  sat  at 
the  keys  evoking  music  that  charmed  the  hearers. 

The  great  pillars  behind  the  choir  stalls  are  now  being 
cleaned  of  their  coats  of  whitewash,  and  the  original 
polychrome  decoration  thus  tastefully  restored  under 
skilled  supervision,  in  response  to  the  petition  of  a  num- 
ber of  eminent  architects.  It  may  be,  then,  that  other 
churches  throughout  the  Netherlands,  now  so  sadly  dis- 
figured, will  be  similarly  favored.  The  beautiful  fleet 
of  ships'  models  hanging  in  the  south  aisle  was  presented 

63 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

to  the  church  by  the  "Schouenvaardersgild"  (Dutch 
Trading  Company)  as  a  commemorative  votive  offering 
in  honor  of  Count  William  of  the  Fifth  Crusade  to  the 
Holy  Land. 

Lady  Anne  was  much  amused  by  the  discovery  of  a 
pile  of  quaint  carved  wooden  "stoof jes"  or  foot  warmers 
— which  she  discovered  piled  beneath  the  hinged  seats  of 
the  choir  stalls.  They  must  be  quite  comfortable  to  have 
beneath  the  feet  in  those  damp  cold  days  of  winter,  for 
there  is  no  other  means  of  heating  this  great  structure, 
and  they  are  in  general  use  throughout  the  Netherlands. 
Such  anachronisms  do  not  in  any  way  disturb  the  Dutch, 
nor  do  they  deem  them  subjects  for  either  remark  or  dis- 
cussion; indeed  they  think  it  very  bad  taste  upon  the 
part  of  a  stranger  to  refer  to  them;  such  sensitiveness 
upon  their  part  is  perhaps  not  one  of  the  least  of  their 
many  engaging  qualities. 

In  Andrew  Marvel's  satire  "The  Character  of  Hol- 
land," one  finds  the  following  lines,  apropos  of  these 
"stoofjes:" 

**See  but  the  mermaids,  with  their  tails  of  fish 
Reeking  at  church  over  the  chafing  dish  I 
A  vestal  turf,  enshrined  in  earthen  ware 
Fumes  through  the  loopholes  of  a  wooden  square; 
Each  to  the  temple  with  these  altars  tend, 
But  still  does  place  it  at  her  western  end; 
While  the  fat  steam  of  female  sacrifice 
Fills  the  priest's  nostrils,  and  puts  out  his  eyes:" 

64 


CHARACTERISTICS 

Oliver  Goldsmith  in  a  complaining  and  illnatured  let- 
ter to  his  Uncle  Contarine,  giving  his  impressions  of  the 
people  of  Holland  criticizes  the  manners  and  appearance 
of  the  Dutch  lady — *'She  burns  nothing  about  her  phleg- 
matic admirer  but  his  tobacco.  You  must  know,  sir, 
every  woman  carries  in  her  hand  a  stove  with  coals  in  it, 
which  when  she  sits,  she  snugs  under  her  petticoats;  and 
at  this  chimney  dozing  Strephon  lights  his  pipe.  I  take  it 
that  this  continual  smoking  is  what  gives  the  man  the 
ruddy  healthful  complexion  he  generally  wears,  by  drain- 
ing his  superfluous  moisture,  while  the  woman,  deprived 
of  this  amusement,  overflows  with  such  viscidities  as  tint 
the  complexion,  and  gives  that  paleness  of  visage  which 
low  fenny  grounds  and  moist  air  conspire  to  cause.  A 
Dutch  woman  and  a  Scotch  will  bear  opposition.  The 
one  is  pale  and  fat,  the  other  lean  and  ruddy :  The  one 
walks  as  if  she  were  straddling  a  go-cart,  the  other  takes 
too  masculine  a  stride." 

Poor  Goldsmith  had  indeed  a  terrible  time  of  it  in 
Holland. 

He  liked  not  the  people,  and  they  liked  not  him.  Un- 
cle Contarine  had  to  send  him  enough  money  to  pay  his 
debts  and  his  way  back  to  England,  which  he  reached 
penniless  and  discouraged.  It  can  hardly  be  wondered 
at  that  he  followed  the  fashion  of  the  literary  men  of  his 
day  and  joined  in  abuse  of  the  Dutch,  who  all  uncon- 
scious pursued  the  even  tenor  of  their  ways. 

65 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

And  now  for  a  few  proverbs  with  which  the  Dutch  de- 
light in  enlivening  their  conversation; 

Wise  is  he  who  is  always  wise. 

The  devil  makes  a  pillow  of  an  idler. 

Even  a  sailor  sometimes  may  fall  overboard. 

It  might  profit  a  man  to  end  his  life  ere  he  dies. 

Never  hunt  the  hare  with  a  drum. 

Never  did  crown  cure  an  aching  head. 

The  falling  tear  soon  vanishes. 

Even  though  you  ride  watch  out. 

Many  'gulden"  [great  fortune]  much  trouble. 

'Tis  easy  to  cut  your  neighbor's  cloth. 

The  old  soldier  delights  in  tales  of  war. 

The  tall  tree  casts  a  greater  shadow  than  the  grape 
vine. 

The  silk  coat  and  the  velvet  gown  lighten  the  purse. 

Before  you  treat  a  man  eat  a  bowl  of  salt  with  him. 

Watch  out  when  the  old  dog  barks. 

How  easy  to  make  a  roaring  fire  with  another  man's 
turf. 

The  doctor  and  the  sexton  are  rarely  intimates. 

The  swampland  does  not  need  the  rain. 

Even  the  wisest  hen  lays  an  egg  in  the  bushes. 


66 


Jin,  Hnddtt  and  IKolinn 

y^  ERTAINLY  no  one  can  fully  appreciate  the  art  of 
■  U  the  great  Dutch  masters  till  he  has  seen  the  coun- 
^^^  try  in  which  they  lived  and  painted.  For  theirs 
are  pictures  which  have  grown  out  of  the  very  soil,  which 
have  been  painted  by  men  who  were  content  to  paint  the 
portrait  of  their  own  country,  artists  who  could  "descry 
abundant  worth  in  trivial  commonplace."  The  Dutch 
school  is  the  exponent  of  everyday  life ;  it  has  no  aspira- 
tions after  the  great  and  glorious,  the  mysterious,  or  the 
unseen.  Nature,  as  seen  in  Holland,  either  out  of  doors 
or  in  the  house,  is  the  one  inspiration  of  its  art.  We  are 
in  the  domain  of  naturalism.  We  must  not  suppose, 
however,  that  the  Dutch  school  in  its  realistic  character 
presents  nothing  but  a  brutal  materialism,  and  never  rises 
above  the  delineation  of  drunken  boors  at  a  village  inn. 
There  is  a  truthfulness  in  the  Dutch  pictures  which  com- 
mands admiration.  It  has  been  well  said  that  "A  dead 
tree  by  Ruisdael  may  touch  a  heart,  a  bull  by  Paul  Potter 
may  speak  eloquently,  a  kitchen  by  Kalf  may  contain  a 
poem."  All  the  painters  of  this  school  confine  themselves 
to  loving,  understanding,  and  representing  Nature,  each 

67 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

one  adding  his  own  feelings  and  taste — in  fact,  adding 
his  individuality.  This  love  of  Nature  is  specially  man- 
ifested in  those  landscapes  and  sea-pieces  in  which  the 
Dutch  school  excels.  Visiting  various  parts  of  Holland, 
in  different  kinds  of  weather,  we  shall  see  how  each 
painter  identifies  himself  with  the  special  aspect  which 
he  depicts.  A  barren,  gloomy  landscape  under  a  leaden 
sky,  unrelieved  by  a  living  creature,  its  grim  monotony 
only  broken  by  a  waterfall  or  a  dead  tree,  at  once  shows 
us  Jacob  Van  Ruisdael,  the  ^'Melancholy  Jacques"  as 
some  one  has  aptly  styled  him  of  landscape  painters,  who 
finds  "tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks,  ser- 
mons in  stones."  A  bright  early  morning,  when  the  sun 
flashes  merrily  on  white  sail  and  glancing  stream,  and  the 
fat  black-and-white  cattle  are  browsing  knee-deep  in  the 
rich  meadows,  reminds  us  of  the  lover  of  light,  Albert 
Cuyp.  A  warm  afternoon,  when  the  shadows  of  the  fruit 
trees  lie  across  the  orchards,  and  an  ox  or  horse  or  some 
other  animal  lies  in  the  grateful  shade,  tells  us  of  Paul 
Potter,  the  Raphael  of  modern  painters,  the  La  Fontaine 
of  artists.  An  evening  landscape,  where  amid  the  graz- 
ing cattle  some  rustic  "Meliboeus  sports  with  Amaryllis 
in  the  shade,"  and  presents  an  idyl  such  as  a  Dutch  Virgil 
might  have  written,  brings  before  us  the  painter  of  the 
night,  Van  de  Velde.  A  still  pond,  with  the  moon  re- 
flected on  its  surface  and  a  few  cottages  nearly  hidden  by 
the  dark  alder  and  poplar  trees,  will  remind  us  of  the 

68 


;  '*    *  '  J 


M 


Enkhuizen — Jn  Interior 


fie 


adding 
ly  man- 

>f  Holland, 


ones.'     A  bright  carh  len  the 

liashes  mernlv  on  white  sail  and  pla  ream,  and  th 

t  black- 

eadows.  ren' 


ontainf 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

painter  of  the  night,  Van  der  Neer.  The  sea-shore  with 
high-stemmed  Dutch  ships  sailing  over  the  waves  is  the 
favorite  haunt  of  Willem  Van  de  Velde ;  a  river  flowing 
on  toward  the  horizon,  and  reflecting  a  dull  gray  sky, 
recalls  Van  Goyen;  and  if  we  look  on  a  frozen  canal, 
crowded  with  skaters,  Isack  Van  Ostade  stands  confessed. 
And  this  is  not  only  true  of  landscape  and  sea  pictures; 
the  everyday  life  of  Holland  is  identified  in  its  various 
phases  with  different  painters  of  this  school.  Owing  to 
the  changes  which  time  and  fashion  make,  we  shall  not 
find  in  the  streets  the  ''Night  Watch"  of  Rembrandt,  or 
the  "Banquet"  of  Van  der  Heist  in  the  town  hall,  the  long 
satin  robes  of  Ter  Borch,  the  plumed  cavaliers  of  Wouv- 
erman,  or  the  drunken  peasants  of  Adriaan  Van  Ostade. 
But  if,  in  passing  through  a  Dutch  town,  we  see  a  young 
girl  leaning  on  the  old  balustrade  of  a  window,  sur- 
rounded with  ivy  and  geraniums,  we  may  still  recognize 
Gerard  Dou.  In  the  peaceful  interior  of  a  Gothic  house 
where  an  old  woman  is  spinning  and  which  is  lighted  by 
the  warm  rays  of  the  sun,  we  see  Pieter  de  Hooch. ^  How 
did  such  a  body  of  painters  contrive  to  spring  from  such 
an  unromantic  and  distressful  period  as  the  latter  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  from  so  small  a  country,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  of  life-and-death  struggle  known  as  the 
eighty  years'  war,  when  the  fortunes  of  the  nation  reached 

"German,  Flemish  and  Dutch  Painting"  by  H.  G.  Wilmot-Buxton  and 
Edward  S.  Poynter,  R.A. 

69 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

their  lowest  ebb?     The  enigma  is  still  unsolved.     The 
artists  followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession. 

BORN    IN  BORN    IN 

Frans  Hals 1580         Paul  Potter 1625 

Van  Honthorst 1590         Jan  Steen 1626 

Adriaen  Brouwer 1605  Jacob  van  Ruysdael. .  . .  1628 

Rembrandt 1606  De  Hooch  and  Metsu. .  1630 

Jan  Lievens 1607  Nicholas  Maes  and  Ver- 

Adriaan  Van  Ostade.  .  .  .  1610  meer   1632 

Van  der  Heist 1611  Adrian  van  der  Velde.  .  1635 

Gerard  Dou 1613  Van  Mieris  (senior)  .  .  .  1635 

Govert  Flinck 1615         Hondecoeter 1636 

Ferdinand  Bol 1616        Van  der  Heyden 1637 

Ter  Borch 1617         Hobbema   1638 

Wouverman   1619        Jan  Weenix 1640 

Albert  Cuyp 1620 

The  earliest  dawn  of  art  in  modern  Europe,  as  shown 
in  fresco  and  distemper,  is  found  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  Alps ;  but  painting  in  oil,  the  art  which  glows  on  the 
canvas  of  a  Raphael,  a  Titian,  or  a  Rembrandt,  had  its 
origin  in  the  Netherlands.  Most  authorities  from  the 
days  of  Vasari  have  credited  the  discovery  of  oil  paint- 
ing to  the  brothers  Van  Eyck,  who  painted  at  The  Hague, 
Ghent,  and  Bruges  during  the  latter  part  of  the  four- 
teenth and  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  centuries.  But 
they  were  not  the  first  artists  of  the  Netherlands  in  point 
of  time. 

For  centuries  the  Dutch  churches  had  been  filled  with 
paintings  which  seemed  to  have  possessed  considerable 
merit  (Davies'  "Holland").     The  moist  climate,  how- 

70 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

ever,  worked  destruction  to  most  of  the  wall  productions. 
The  churches  of  Italy,  with  their  wide  walls  and  broad 
roof  spaces,  afforded  scope  for  fresco  decoration  which 
was  wanting  in  the  structures  of  a  Gothic  type.  Hence, 
the  Netherland  paintings  were  of  a  different  class,  being 
smaller  and  mostly  executed  on  wooden  panels.  The 
groundwork  of  the  panel  was  prepared  with  a  thin  coat- 
ing of  fine  plaster,  and  upon  this  coating  were  laid  the 
colors  mixed  with  the  white  of  an  egg  or  the  juice  of  un- 
ripe figs.  Oil  was  employed,  but  its  use  was  attended 
with  great  disadvantages.  It  was  difficult  to  lay  the  col- 
ors finely  with  it  and  they  took  a  long  time  to  dry.  For 
this  reason  it  was  never  used  in  the  finished  part  of  the 
work,  but  only  for  large  masses  of  drapery  and  such. 
The  great  objection  to  this  process  lay  in  the  fact — not 
then  discovered  to  its  full  extent,  however — that  in  time 
the  whole  mass  flaked  off,  leaving  nothing  but  the  bare 
surface  of  the  panel.  The  Van  Eyck  brothers  mixed 
some  substance,  probably  resin,  with  boiled  oil,  and 
found  that  they  had  a  medium  which  dried  quickly  and 
with  which  the  finest  and  most  delicate  work  could  be 
accomplished.  The  plaster  on  the  panel  was  interpene- 
trated with  this  varnish  and  the  whole  wrought  so  finely 
together  that  at  last  the  surface  became  like  enamel,  and 
it  is  generally  next  to  impossible  to  detect  the  traces  of 
the  brush.  (See  Conway's  ''Early  Flemish  Artists,"  also 
Burger's  well-known  book  on  the  ''Muses  de  la  Hoi- 

71 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

lande,"  in  which  Dutch  painting  is  most  exhaustively 
treated,  and  "The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England  and 
America,"  by  Douglas  Campbell.) 

Of  the  modern  school  of  painting  numerous  examples 
are  scattered  all  over  Holland.  In  Rotterdam  at  Boy- 
man's  Museum  are  some  splendid  examples;  also  Tey- 
ler's  Museum  at  Haarlem.  Examples  of  Mesdag,  the 
painter  of  the  sea,  are  found  in  nearly  all  cities.  He 
paints  the  sea  in  its  prevailing  tones  of  gray.  Israels 
paints  his  figures  with  great  power  in  both  oil  and  water 
color,  and  his  pictures  appeal  to  the  imagination  from 
the  very  simplicity  of  composition.  They  are  quiet,  even 
melancholy  in  sentiment,  depicting  scenes  of  poverty 
with  great  feeling.  Anton  Mauve  lived  near  Muider- 
burg  on  the  Zuyderzee  and  had  a  great  love  for  sheep. 
There  is  a  deliciously  cool  and  exquisite  touch  in  all  his 
work.  No  other  artist  of  our  time  has  painted  so  sym- 
pathetically that  soft,  violet  gray  light  which  envelops 
the  landscape  and  the  creamy  dunes,  crested  with  sparse 
grass  tufts,  and  the  feathery  trees  of  North  Holland. 
Roelaf's  landscapes  should  be  seen  and  studied.  Also 
the  interior  views  of  the  Dutch  churches  by  Bosbooms. 
The  brothers  Maris,  who  painted  an  enormous  number  of 
pictures  and  whose  paintings  are  in  nearly  every  promi- 
nent collection  in  Europe  and  America,  have  upheld  upon 
their  brush  points,  with  the  above-mentioned  men,  the 
glory  of  the  modern  art  of  the  Netherlands.     Pieneman 

72 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

was  a  most  assiduous  worker,  with  tendencies  toward  the 
heroic  school  of  Jordaens  of  Antwerp,  much  of  whose 
work  is  to  be  seen  in  Holland,  notably  in  the  Orange 
Room  at  the  Huis  ten  Bosch,  The  Hague.  His  most  am- 
bitious work  is  that  huge  canvas  at  the  Rijks  Museum, 
"Battle  of  Waterloo."  It  measures  twenty-six  feet  by 
eighteen  feet.  The  subject,  of  course,  appeals  to  every 
Dutchman,  for  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  one  of  the  many 
heroes  of  that  day.     This  picture  was  painted  in  1884. 

Sir  L.  Alma  Tadema,  that  most  distinguished  Hol- 
lander whose  work  is  well  known  the  world  over,  and  who 
lived  in  a  veritable  palace  in  London,  England,  was  born 
at  Marssum,  near  Leewarden.  He  studied  under  the 
famous  painter.  Baron  Leys,  and  also  worked  for  a  con- 
siderable time  with  his  uncle,  Mesdag,  the  marine 
painter. 

As  we  have  seen  then  at  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  Dutch  school  was  practically  extinct 
and  remained  so  for  a  hundred  years.  As  these  great 
masters  came  so  they  went,  quickly  and  mysteriously,  and 
although  a  second  Rembrandt  has  not  appeared,  nor  a 
Paul  Potter,  yet  the  Netherlands  has  in  this  last-men- 
tioned list  of  modern  painters  an  academical  body,  yet 
without  its  restricted  forms,  of  whom  it  may  well  be 
proud. 

The  Netherlands,  of  course,  is  a  maritime  nation,  a 
nation  of  sailors  and  fishermen.     The  whole  coast  is 

73 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

clotted  with  fishing  villages,  which  are  fast  losing  their 
quaint  character  and  becoming  fashionable  watering 
places.  Of  these,  Scheveningen  [impossible  to  give  this 
pronunciation  in  type]  is  perhaps  the  chief,  and  still 
maintains  a  large  fleet  of  extremely  picturesque  fishing 
boats  (pinken),  the  cargoes  of  which  are  sold  by  auction 
on  the  beach  immediately  on  their  arrival.  (I  am  in- 
formed that  this  custom  is  now  to  be  abandoned.)  I 
have  tried  in  vain  to  understand  the  system  of  sale,  and 
I  have  often  tried  to  describe  it.  The  scene  on  such  occa- 
sions is  often  very  picturesque  and  highly  amusing.  The 
boats  are  wide  and  deep  and  open  in  the  center  of  the 
ribs,  and  only  decked  fore  and  aft.  On  each  side  are 
huge  "lee  boards,"  for  the  boats  are  flat-bottomed.  They 
are  of  one  mast  and  carry  a  jib  and  mainsail,  dyed  deep 
golden  brown.  There  is  no  paint  used  on  the  bodies  of 
the  boats  save  a  strip  of  the  most  delicate  green  near  the 
gunwale.  The  hull  is  covered  with  a  thick  coating 
of  hard  oil,  giving  the  wood  a  most  beautiful  appearance. 
To  see  the  fleet  off  shore  and  coming  sailing  in  at  full 
speed,  all  in  line,  and  running  up  on  the  sand,  high  and 
dry,  is  a  sight  worth  traveling  far  to  witness.  The  vil- 
lage people  in  their  wonderful  and  varied  costumes,  the 
fathers  too  aged  to  work,  and  the  mothers  and  children 
await  their  coming  in  long  lines  on  the  beaches.  Horses 
are  hitched  up  and  driven  at  full  speed  into  the  shallow 
water  and  made  fast  to  long  lines  stretching  from  the 

74 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

bows  of  the  boats,  which  they  pull  shoreward,  driven  by 
loud  cries  and  exclamations.  Then  the  "patroons,"  or 
captains,  descend  with  much  dignity  from  their  respec- 
tive boats,  and  mounting  on  the  backs  of  some  of  the  men 
who  stand  waist  deep  in  the  water,  are  conveyed  ashore 
through  the  surf  to  the  beach,  where  they  await  stolidly 
the  unloading  of  the  fish.  The  fishing  is  prosecuted  with 
considerable  success.  Drag-nets,  or  trawls  as  they  are 
called,  are  thrown  overboard  and  hauled  along  the  bot- 
tom of  the  shallow  waters  of  the  North  Sea,  naturally 
scraping  up  everything  in  their  way.  Large  numbers  of 
skate  are  caught.  Other  vessels  go  still  further,  even  as 
far  as  the  north  coast  of  Scotland  after  the  herring,  and 
meet  with  great  success.  The  men  are  splendid  and 
sturdy  specimens  of  their  race,  blond  and  blue-eyed,  with 
fine  bronze  skins,  and  some  of  them  with  great  charm  and 
openness  of  character.  They  are  simple  and  loyal  and 
generally  treat  the  stranger  with  great  courtesy  and  kind- 
ness. All  the  fishing  boats  are  registered  and  numbered 
under  the  law  and  are  controlled  and  watched  over  by 
the  revenue  cutters.  Of  course,  there  is  much  drinking 
among  the  men,  as  is  to  be  expected. 

Scheveningen,  the  ancient  fishing  village,  or  rather 
what  is  left  of  it,  is  now  joined  to  a  very  fashionable  city 
of  great  hotels  and  ornate  private  villas.  The  village,  it 
is  said,  dates  from  the  fifteenth  century,  and  singularly 
enough  has  retained  in  the  few  streets  left  in  the  old  set- 

75 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

tlement  much  of  its  ancient  character,  in  spite  of  the  great 
throng  of  summer  tourists  who  visit  it  each  year.  The. 
quaint  huts  of  the  fishermen  are  much  as  they  were  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  if  new  ones  are  built,  the  original 
form  is  invariably  copied.  There  are  yet  several  curious 
narrow  streets  lined  with  these  red-tiled,  creamy-walled 
little  houses,  with  bright  green-painted  doors,  and  lace- 
hung  windows,  at  which  appears  above  the  invariable 
blooming  pot  of  flowers  the  lace-capped  face  of  a  fur- 
tively peering  peasant  attracted  by  the  noise  of  footsteps 
on  the  rough  cobbled  street. 

All  about  are  piles  of  tarry  nets,  fishing  baskets,  and 
marine  impediments  in  most  picturesque  confusion. 
The  catch  is  particularly  among  the  great  schools  of  her- 
ring that  feed  off  shore,  and  the  daily  departure  of  the 
fleet  from  the  sands  is  a  sight  to  be  remembered. 

The  old  houses  of  the  fishermen  are  in  singular  contrast 
with  the  air  of  modern  luxury  of  the  famous  bathing  re- 
sort terraced  along  the  sand  dunes,  where  stately  hotels 
line  the  boulevard,  which  terminates  in  a  long  jetty,  and 
a  pavilion  at  its  end.  There  is  an  imposing  "Kurhaus" 
or  Casino,  with  high  cupolas  decked  with  flags;  the  crash- 
ing of  bands,  and  cries  of  vendors  fill  the  air  with  noise, 
and  the  beautiful  sands  spotted  with  the  curious  wicker 
chairs,  which  render  it  unique,  are  crowded  with  people 
from  all  over  the  world.  Scheveningen  is  perhaps  the 
most  cosmopolitan  bathing  resort  in  the  world,  and  it  is 

76 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

certainly  one  of  the  most  expensive.  Here  instead  of 
francs  one  pays  florins  I 

In  the  season  there  is  great  interest  in  horse-racing. 
(Harddraverij^  in  Dutch. )  There  are  fine  tracks  at  Rot- 
terdam, at  Amsterdam,  at  Woest-Duin  near  Haarlem,  at 
Utrecht,  and  at  Groningen.  The  sport  has  its  organ,  a 
weekly  newspaper  named  Hippos.  The  scene  at  these 
races  is  often  quite  gay  and  animated,  and  considerable 
money  changes  hands  through  the  presence  of  large  num- 
bers of  strangers  from  England  and  Belgium 

There  are  many  rowing  and  sailing  clubs,  the  principal 
one  being  under  royal  patronage  and  called  "The  Royal 
Dutch  Rowing  and  Sailing  Club,"  with  headquarters  at 
Amsterdam.  The  outer  side  of  the  Amstel  is  a  favorite 
piece  of  water  for  the  racing  of  small  craft;  while  the  Ij 
and  the  near-by  Zuyderzee  are  used  by  larger  boats. 
During  the  season  several  very  successful  regattas  are 
held  on  the  river  Ij  [Eye].  The  official  organ  which 
may  be  studied  for  particulars  is  the  Nederlandsche 
Sport. 

To  the  cycler,  the  signs  everywhere  seen  through  Hol- 
land bearing  the  word  ''Wielrijders"  (cyclists)  should  be 
carefully  regarded  if  followed  by  the  word  *'Verboden" 
(forbidden),  for  the  Dutchman  is  not  always  patient 
with  the  foreigner  at  any  infringement  of  the  law.  The 
official  touring  club  is  called  the  "Alg.  Ned.  Wielrijders- 
bond."     This  is  a  most  flourishing,  well-established  asso- 

77 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

elation,  and  under  its  laws  has  resulted  in  the  manifest 
improvement  of  the  roadways.  All  through  the  coun- 
try are  seen  sign  and  distance  posts  emblazoned  with  the 
familiar  winged  wheel,  and  fixed  charges  are  maintained 
at  the  different  hotels.  The  sign  for  the  hotel  is  "Bonds- 
Hotel."  The  distances  marked  on  the  post  are  in  kilo- 
meters. The  automobile  of  course  is  now  a  common 
sight  through  Holland.  I  well  remember  my  own  ex- 
perience in  the  first  machine  perhaps  which  the  "Vollen- 
dammers"  had  ever  seen  and  which  came  up  from  Amster- 
dam purposely  to  deposit  me  at  "Spaander's,"  and  the 
throngs  of  excited  peasants,  shaken  for  the  nonce  out  of 
their  usual  apathy.  The  machine  was  a  noisy  red  one,  an 
early  model,  and  the  petroleum  gases  forming  in  the  ex- 
haust suddenly  igniting  went  off  with  the  noise  of  a  small 
cannon,  at  which  the  excited  Mynheers  promptly  with- 
drew their  hands  from  their  capacious  pockets,  shut  their 
eyes,  closed  their  mouths,  and  seizing  their  children  by 
the  shoulder  or  anything  they  could  get  hold  of,  promptly 
fled  to  a  safe  distance.  Me  they  regarded  as  a  being 
miraculously  endowed  with  unheard-of  courage  and  pro- 
tected by  the  wing  of  some  sweet  little  cherub  from  his 
seat  up  aloft,  and  as  such  entitled  to  a  new  distinction 
and  respect.  The  chauffeur,  capped  and  goggled,  they 
regarded  as  some  sort  of  monster,  removed  from  their 
ken,  and  when  he  gruffly  spoke  to  them  in  their  own 
tongue,  they  refused  to  believe  the  evidence  of  their  ears 

78 


A  Dutch  Go-Cart 


in  the  manifest 

>t  the  roadw  he  coun- 

Old  distance  posts  emblazoned  with  the 

vheel,  and  are  maintained 

rtercnt  hotels.  hotel  is  '*Bon< 

'lie  di^  are  in  kil  - 

The  au 

igh  H. 

in  th< 


dam  purposely 
iirongs  of  exc  shaken  for  t 

usual  apath)  e  machine  was  a  noisy  red  one,  an 

<  ariy  model,  and  the  petroleum  gases  forming  in  the  ex- 
nly  igniting  went  off  with  the  noise  of  a  Mnall 
the  excit; 


being 
/f  courage  and  pro- 


\ti*Dfon>:  vVit^Q  \.  irs 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

and  only  stared,  and  when  he  turned  the  machine  with 
great  skill  in  the  narrow  roadway  by  the  canal  and  opened 
the  throttle,  vanishing  noisily  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  they  re- 
mained standing  one  and  all  spellbound  and  speechless, 
so  that  I  had  to  carry  my  own  traps  to  the  little  stairway 
which  I  mounted  and  along  the  raised  pathway  until  I 
met  the  hospitable  Spaander,  who  welcomed  me  with 
open  arms.  But  the  Dutchman  is  now  very  familiar  with 
the  automobile  and  regards  it  with  a  certain  degree  of  con- 
tempt, considering  it  only  in  the  light  of  its  occupants 
and  as  furnishing  him  with  extra  guldens.  Indeed,  the 
demands  of  the  modern  Dutchman  upon  the  "gulden"  of 
the  inexperienced  traveler  are  only  limited  by  the  latter's 
willingness  to  disgorge.  This  will  be,  I  think,  sufficient 
warning. 

Intending  visitors  to  Holland  in  the  winter  will  do 
well  to  join  one  of  the  skating  clubs  to  be  found  in  every 
town,  as  the  sport  is  most  popular  throughout  the  country. 
Nearly  all  the  larger  clubs  are  members  of  the  Dutch  skat- 
ing association,  or  the  "Nederlandsche  Schaatsenrijders- 
bond,"  at  Groningen.  The  Hollanders  learned  to  skate 
from  the  Romans,  and  examples  of  the  earliest  skates 
which  they  used  may  be  seen  in  the  different  museums. 
They  were  made  of  bones,  smoothed  and  polished  to  a  flat 
surface,  and  were  tied  to  the  feet  with  strings.  The 
scene  on  the  rivers  and  canals  in  the  winter  is  a  most  ani- 
mated and  interesting  one,  and  the  Dutch  are  completely 

79 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

transformed.  No  sooner  does  the  ice  bear  than  the  whole 
people  begin  to  glide  and  swirl  to  the  poetry  of  motion. 
The  canals  then  become  the  real  streets.  The  sounds  of 
discordant  organs  from  the  merry-go-round  are  heard 
everywhere,  and  over  all  is  the  pungent  odor  of  the  stale 
grease  from  the  "Poffertjes"  and  "Wafelen"  booths,  pre- 
sided over  by  fat,  bare-armed  "Vrouwes,"  who  make  them 
with  indescribable  rapidity  for  the  ravenous  peasants. 
The  first  are  little  round  pancaky  blobs,  twisted,  cooked 
in  hot  grease  and  covered  with  butter  and  sugar.  The 
"Wafelen"  are  oblong  wafers  stamped  thinly  in  an  iron 
mold,  fried,  and  also  buttered  and  sugared.  It  is  eti- 
quette to  eat  two  dozen  "Poffertjes"  and  two  of  "Waf- 
elen"  at  the  first  order.  Afterward  you  may  eat  as  many 
as  you  wish.  A  thin,  sour  beer  is  drunk  with  them,  or  a 
sickly,  sweet  lemonade.  To  eat  them  is  one's  duty.  To 
watch  the  cooking  is  a  fascination.  They  are  made  by 
hundreds  at  once  over  a  brisk  charcoal  fire  and  one  can 
smell  the  odor  of  grease  for  miles.  The  cook  busies  her- 
self in  twisting  the  little  dabs  of  pasty  dough  into  the 
molds  and  dumping  out  those  that  are  cooked.  One  may 
see  pictures  in  the  museums  painted  by  Jan  Steen  show- 
ing the  operation.  The  peasants  stand  in  rows  before 
these  booths,  eating  the  dainties.  They  are  very  noisy, 
and  while  one  sees  but  little  drunkenness,  there  is  very 
little  real  revelry.  The  Dutch  take  their  pleasures  very 
stolidly,  and  the  great  evidence  of  the  "festa"  is  the  glare 

80 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

of  the  naphtha  lamps  and  the  loud,  blaring  notes  of  the 
steam  organs.  The  Dutchman,  when  he  wearies  of  skat- 
ing in  the  winter,  seats  himself  with  his  "meisje"  by  his 
side  on  the  backs  of  the  most  wonderfully  carved  and 
brilliantly  painted  elephants,  camels,  horses,  or  griffons, 
in  the  'carrousels,"  or  merry-go-rounds,  and  will  ride  for 
hours  at  a  time  with  staring  eyes  and  open  mouth  in  a  sort 
of  trance,  until  he  is  pulled  off  forcibly  by  the  owner  of 
the  machine  and  made  to  pay  up.  There  are  numerous 
sideshows  on  the  banks  with  alleged  two-headed  boys, 
giant  females,  dwarf  ponies,  etc.,  presided  over  by  loud- 
tongued  barkers,  but  the  devotee  of  the  sport  will  prefer 
to  leave  these  scenes  behind  and  glide  along  out  into  the 
country  districts  over  the  smooth  ice  in  company  with  the 
brilliantly  costumed  and  bright-cheeked  peasantry,  arriv- 
ing perchance  at  the  next  town  in  time  for  dinner,  which 
should  be  ordered  in  advance  unless  the  town  is  a  large 
one.  The  skating  carnival  is  generally  the  cause  of 
many  weddings  among  the  peasantry,  and  if  one  is  so 
happy  as  to  be  present  at  one  of  these  a  most  inter- 
esting experience  may  be  enjoyed.  Thursday  is  the 
peasants'  day  for  the  ceremony,  for  on  this  day  the  fees 
are  very  small.  My  Dutch  friend  says  that  on  other  days 
it  is  "largely  expensive"  to  be  married.  The  "Koster" 
complains  bitterly  of  the  present  economical  tendency 
which  induces  so  many  young  couples  to  dispense  with  the 
religious  ceremony  in  favor  of  the  civic  marriage.     My 

81 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

Dutch  friend  further  explains  that  there  are  several  dis- 
tinct decorative  ceremonies  at  church,  ranging  in  price 
from  say  four  guilders  to  twenty-five,  and  for  the  latter 
figure  there  are  carpets  and  artificial  flowers  and  trap- 
pings galore.  On  Thursdays,  then,  there  are  generally  a 
number  of  couples  at  the  church  waiting  their  turn.  The 
happy  bride  is  brought  in  a  high-backed  tilbury,  if  in  the 
country,  the  interior  of  which  is  decorated  with  two  large 
mirrors  in  the  shape  of  hearts  lavishly  trimmed  with  arti- 
ficial white  flowers,  where  she  sits  admiringly  contem- 
plated by  the  party.  The  ceremony  is  rattled  through 
with  great  rapidity,  after  which  the  peasants  depart  to 
the  nearest  hotel  in  procession,  the  groom  in  full  evening 
dress,  and  with  a  stolid,  seemingly  bored  expression. 
He  consumes  vast  quantities  of  beer,  all  paid  for  by  his 
companions  on  this  occasion  until  the  hour  of  the  ban- 
quet. This,  it  is  explained,  is  the  second  ceremony,  for 
when  the  preliminaries  of  an  engagement  are  decided 
upon,  a  betrothal  dinner  is  held.  The  friends  are  in- 
vited to  the  wedding  by  the  present  of  a  box  of  sweets,  or 
maybe  a  bottle  of  wine,  popularly  known  as  ''bride's 
tears"  (''Bruidstranen").  On  the  day  of  the  wedding, 
the  whole  party  imbibe  generously  of  a  certain  brand  of 
this  wine  which  contains  small  floating  particles  of  gold- 
leaf.  They  afterward  dance  and  carouse  for  the  balance 
of  the  night. 

There  are  many  other  strange  customs  pertaining  to 

82 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

the  ceremony,  but  perhaps  they  may  well  be  left  to  the 
imagination.  I  was  invited  to  one  ceremony  which 
seemed  so  peculiar  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  describing 
it.  On  this  occasion  I  happened  to  meet  with  the  U.  S. 
Consul,  an  American  friend,  who  invited  me  to  go  with 
him  to  witness  a  civil  ceremony  of  marriage,  which  he  said 
was  most  singular  according  to  our  ideas.  When  we  ar- 
rived at  the  house,  the  ceremony  had  begun.  The  happy 
couple  were  standing  together  before  the  burgomaster, 
who  was  empowered  to  perform  the  service.  I  could  not 
understand  quite  all  that  was  being  said,  but  when  it  was 
over,  the  bride,  who  was  gorgeously  arrayed  with  a 
wreath  of  flowers  about  her  lace  cap,  through  the  meshes 
of  which  shone  a  magnificent  beaten  gold  head-dress  with 
pendant  diamond  sparks  at  each  side  of  her  rosy  face,  and 
with  many  strings  of  coral  beads  about  her  throat,  her 
figure  arrayed  in  the  Zeeland  costume,  shook  hands  first 
with  the  groom,  then  with  the  burgomaster,  and  disap- 
peared from  view  into  a  back  room  with  her  girl  com- 
panions. The  groom  then  drank  off  a  large  goblet  of 
warm,  sweet  champagne,  the  temperature  and  quality  of 
which  I  discovered  when  my  own  glass  was  filled. 
Round  after  round  of  wine  was  consumed  and  huge  slices 
of  dark,  soggy  fruit  cake  were  passed  about,  until  in  des- 
peration and  hidden  by  the  crowd,  in  self-defense  I  emp- 
tied my  brimming  goblet  surreptitiously  on  the  floor.  I 
managed  to  ask  the  consul,  whisperingly,  to  explain. 

83 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

He  said  that  the  bridegroom  was  in  South  Africa  and  un- 
able to  be  present;  that  the  couple  wished  to  be  married  at 
once;  that  he  had  sent  for  the  bride  to  come  to  him,  and 
as  it  was  contrary  to  etiquette  for  the  bride  to  go  to  him 
unmarried,  the  bridegroom's  brother  acted  as  proxy,  and 
that  the  young  damsel,  now  a  blushing  bride,  would  sail 
by  the  steamer  from  Amsterdam  for  Natal  the  following 
morning.  The  usual  custom  of  an  all-night  celebration 
then  progressed.  Then  ensued  dancing  to  the  music 
of  a  discordant  band,  and  the  constant  eating  and  drink- 
ing among  non-dancers  went  on.  We  all  signed  our 
names  in  a  large  book,  and  I  was  most  hospitably  urged 
to  remain  for  the  night  as  a  distinguished  guest.  My 
friend,  the  consul,  told  me  that  this  wedding  by  proxy 
was  not  an  unusual  ceremony,  but  I  had  never  heard 
of  it  before.  There  is  an  old  saying  in  Holland  that 
there  are  only  two  things  a  girl  chooses  herself — "her 
potatoes  and  her  lover."  They  see  each  other  at  the 
"Kermis"  and  then  the  lad  feels  his  heart's  desire.  So 
he  puts  on  all  his  best  clothes  and  bravely  goes  to  her 
parents'  house.  The  father  and  mother  give  him  wel- 
come, the  girls  smile  and  nudge  each  other,  and  no  one 
refers  to  the  purpose  of  his  visit,  though  of  course  they 
well  know  why  he  has  come.  At  last  they  all  retire  from 
the  room,  even  the  father  and  mother,  and  the  two  are 
left  alone  beside  the  fire.  They  discuss  everything  but 
the  subject  at  heart.     Not  a  word  of  love  is  uttered,  but 

84 


ART,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 

mark  you,  if  she  does  not  feed  the  fire  on  the  hearth  and 
it  dies  down,  it  is  a  hint  that  she  does  not  care  for  him, 
but  if  she  heaps  piles  of  fuel  on  the  fire,  he  knows  that 
she  loves  him  and  means  to  accept  him  for  her  husband, 
and  he  knows  that  it  is  all  right,  and  from  that  day  for- 
ward he  is  accepted  as  one  of  the  family.  The  engage- 
ment is  for  a  year  or  two,  more  or  less,  and  I  am  told  they 
are  permitted  to  go  everywhere  alone  and  amuse  them- 
selves without  criticism  or  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  parents. 


85 


tHE  traveler  is  recommended  above  all  to  enter 
Holland  by  way  of  Flushing  in  Zeeland,  as  the 
island  of  Walcheren  now  retains  more  of  the  old 
costumes  and  the  original  types  of  peasantry  than  per- 
haps any  other  of  the  provinces.  The  picturesque  cos- 
tumes of  the  women,  with  their  queer  head-dresses  and 
flashing  gold  and  silver  cap  ornaments  (Hoofdijzers), 
show  to  great  advantage  and  impress  the  tourist  with  the 
strange  antiquity  of  the  people.  The  milkmaid  going 
her  round  with  utensils  burnished  like  silver  and  gold 
and  sparkling  in  the  sunlight;  the  patient  dogs  drawing 
the  little  two-wheeled  green  carts  laden  with  brass  milk 
cans;  the  curious  carvings  on  the  dark,  leaning  house 
fronts;  the  funny  little  mirrors  (spui)  outside  at  each 
window,  showing  to  those  within  the  passer-by;  the  busy 
"huisvrouw"  cleansing  the  footway  before  her  dwelling 
or  sweeping  the  already  immaculate  bricks  of  the  road- 
way; the  sweet,  soft,  jangling  chime  of  the  bells  in  the 
"Grootekerk"  with  its  lofty  tower  of  four  stages,  dating 
from  the  fourteenth  century ;  the  gaudily  painted  brown- 
sailed  fishing  craft,  manned  by  the  stolid,  broad-beamed 
Dutchmen,  are  all  sights  which  will  impress  one  most 

86 


"THE  HOLLOW  LAND" 

strangely.  The  town  of  Flushing,  or  "Vlissingen,"  is 
situated  about  a  mile  from  the  harbor.  This  walk  is  most 
entertaining.  There  is  a  huge  dial  raised  on  the  dyke 
showing  the  height  of  the  water  in  the  river  Scheldt,  a 
dial  resembling  a  clock  and  with  the  letters  *'A.  P."  on  it. 
In  Dutch  this  means  ''Amsterdamsche  Peil,"  and  shows 
highwater  mark  at  Amsterdam.  Here  is  the  town  hall  on 
the  "Hout  Kade,"  erected  in  1733;  formerly  the  mansion 
of  a  wealthy  citizen,  it  was  adapted  to  its  present  use 
after  the  English  destroyed  the  other  by  bombardment. 
Now  we  come  upon  a  curious  house  across  a  bridge  of 
boats.  It  is  adorned  with  the  figures  of  the  Graces. 
Then  down  a  street  lined  with  large  beautiful  chestnut 
trees  to  the  very  heart  of  old  Flushing.  Here  we  find 
the  peasant  women  gathered  in  the  "Oude  Markt,"  all 
busily  chaffering  and  wrangling  over  their  various  com- 
modities. Across  the  canal  to  the  ''Beurs  Plein,"  to  the 
*'Rotonde"  on  the  sea  front,  with  its  lighthouse  and  a 
raised  walk  upon  which  is  a  fine  bronze  statue  of  Admiral 
De  Ruyter,  who  was  born  here  in  1607.  His  father  was 
a  ropemaker,  but  his  mother  descended  from  a  noble  fam- 
ily. It  was  from  here  that  De  Ruyter's  fleet  sailed  out 
to  attack  the  English  fleet.  The  circular  tower  was  built 
in  1563  and  was  once  the  chief  gate  of  old  Flushing. 

The  island  of  Walcheren  [pronounced  Val-kara]  is 
about  ten  miles  in  length  and  eight  miles  in  breadth  and 
has  played  a  most  important  part  in  Dutch  and  English 

87 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

history,  and  its  story  many  years  further  back  is  full  of 
interest. 

"Among  the  quicksands  of  storm-beaten  Walachria,  that  won- 
drous Normandy  came  into  existence  whose  wings  were  to  sweep 
over  all  the  high  places  of  Christendom.  Out  of  these  creeks,  la- 
gunes,  and  almost  inaccessible  sand  banks,  these  bold  free-booters 
sailed  forth  on  their  forays  against  England,  France,  and  other 
adjacent  countries,  and  here  they  brought  and  buried  the  booty  of 
many  a  wild  adventure.  Here  at  a  later  day  Rollo  the  Dane  had 
that  memorable  dream  of  leprosy,  the  cure  of  which  was  the  con- 
version of  North  Gaul  into  Normandy,  of  pagans  into  Christians, 
and  the  subsequent  conquest  of  every  throne  in  Christendom  from 
Ultima  Thule  to  Byzantium"  ("United  Netherlands"). 

As  to  its  connection  with  English  history,  every  school- 
boy has  heard  of  the  Walcheren  expedition  in  1809,  when 
the  Earl  of  Chatham  was  sent  with  troops  to  destroy  the 
naval  arsenal  which  Napoleon  was  creating  in  Antwerp. 
The  incompetent  English  general,  instead  of  carrying  out 
the  object  of  the  expedition,  stopped  en  route  to  take 
Flushing,  in  consequence  of  which  Napoleon  had  suffi- 
cient time  to  put  Antwerp  in  a  state  of  defense,  while 
7,000  English  soldiers  left  in  charge  of  Walcheren  even- 
tually perished  of  marsh  fever  and  £20,000,000,  the  cost 
of  the  expedition,  was  sacrificed. 

Flushing  has  made  a  magnificent  endeavor  to  become  a 
great  port,  and  it  is  hard  to  understand  why  it  has  not 
succeeded.  The  map  of  Holland  will  show  at  a  glance 
that  its  position  is  unequaled,  and  millions  of  guilders 
have  been  spent  on  its  harbor  works  and  docks.     Steam- 

88 


"THE  HOLLOW  LAND" 

ers  leave  here  regularly  for  Hull  and  different  parts  of 
the  continent.  The  magnificent  harbor  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  known  as  the  outer  port,  and  the  first  and 
second  inner  ports.  The  outer  port  comprises  about 
thirty-two  acres  and  it  is  said  has  a  depth  of  twenty-one 
feet  at  low  water;  a  canal  twenty-four  feet  deep  connects 
the  harbor  with  Middelburg  and  Veere,  cutting  the  island 
of  Walcheren  into  two  parts.  The  town  is  sheltered  by 
great  dykes  from  the  north  and  northeast  winds  and  the 
ever-changing  sea.  To  the  left  is  the  coast  of  South 
Flanders,  some  of  its  villages  being  easily  discernible. 
To  the  north  are  the  downs  with  red-tiled  farmhouses 
dotted  here  and  there.  To  the  northeast  one  gets  a 
glimpse  of  Biggekerke  and  Koudekerke,  two  villages 
well  worth  visiting,  by  the  way.  There  is  a  little  steam 
tram  running  between  Flushing  and  Middelburg,  four 
miles  away,  but  a  pleasanter  way  of  making  the  journey 
is  to  take  the  little  steamer  running  at  frequent  intervals 
through  the  canal,  in  company  with  the  gaily  dressed 
peasantry  to  or  from  their  way  to  market.  In  this  way  a 
better  idea  of  the  country  people  may  be  had. 

Middelburg  was  in  the  Middle  Ages  one  of  the  richest 
and  most  flourishing  cities  of  the  Netherlands,  as  may  be 
seen  from  its  well-built  houses,  once  the  homes  of  mer- 
chant princes,  and  from  its  spacious  docks  and  waterways. 
Its  municipal  charter,  dated  1213,  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
oldest  documents  of  the  kind  in  existence.     It  was  a  great 

89 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

market  for  wool,  and  was  crowded  with  merchants  from 
all  parts  of  Europe,  especially  from  England,  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Portugal.  Its  intercourse  with  other  nations 
led  to  a  large  trade  in  wine.  All  wines  coming  from 
Spain  and  France,  for  example,  for  consumption  in  Hol- 
land and  Germany  had  to  pass  through  Middelburg  and 
pay  a  heavy  duty  there.  In  1572  Middelburg  was  the 
last  place  in  Zeeland  occupied  by  the  Spanish.  It  capitu- 
lated to  the  Zeelanders  in  1574. 

Middelburg  has  been  called  the  most  representative 
town  in  Holland.  On  Thursday,  which  is  market  day, 
there  is  great  opportunity  of  studying  the  Zeeland  peas- 
ants, for  it  is  upon  this  day  that  they  flock  in  from  the 
country  after  their  labors  of  the  week.  Their  dress  is 
peculiar,  most  picturesque,  and  perhaps  the  most  elab- 
orate in  Holland.  Both  sexes  wear  a  great  many  quaint 
beaten  silver  ornaments,  which  may  be  purchased  from 
them  sometimes,  but  for  which  they  usually  ask  twice  the 
value.  There  are  many  little  silverware  shops  in  Mid- 
delburg where  may  be  found  the  quaint  old  Dutch  spoons 
such  as  are  described  by  Thackeray  in  "A  Roundabout 
Paper."  On  market  days  these  shops  are  thronged  with 
peasants,  purchasing  the  curious  Zeeland  silver  buttons 
and  buckles.  These  are  made  of  silver  wire  in  concentric 
circles  which  are  soldered  to  its  base,  and  are  quite  mod- 
erate in  price.  The  eating  at  the  hotels  here  Is  not  very 
good  from  our  standpoint.     The  traveler  will  find  a  su* 

90 


/ 


Middelburg — The  Kermis 


-t  \^  \  I.      v-» 


I  ij  [.*■(./ chants  from 
,    .  v.^'iA. tally  from  England,  Italy, 
'  : ,  ugal.     Its  intercourse  with  other  nations 


'dim  i  ■•Jl    CA.  iiUi- 

md  G(  ■  ■  '  ;  and 

pay  a  heavy  auty  tnert;.  ^' 

hisi  place  in  Zeeland  o 
la  ted  to  the  Zeelar  ' 

Mid  del  burg  ha* 
town  in  Holland. 

there  is  great  or  /.eeiana  peas- 

ants, for  it  is  upon  ttus  da)  Ry  ilock  in  from  the 

'    r  their  labors  oi  the  week.     Their  dress  i> 
:  St  picturesque,  and  perhaps  ^c  most  p\a.\ 

d.     Both  sex" 


I  tor  V 
iiy  iitile 


atcii  spooij 


itwxHii\.  ^AT — ^•\ttA\'i\iVit\A 


"THE  HOLLOW  LAND" 

perabundance,  as  well  as  many  kinds,  of  cheese.  There 
is  cheese  with  caraway  seeds  and  cheese  without,  soft 
cheese,  hard  cheese,  yellow  cheese,  red  cheese,  green 
cheese,  and  white  cheese,  not  to  speak  of  certain  very 
odorous  dark  brown  cheese,  the  merits  of  which  I  am  un- 
able to  specify.  The  bread  is  generally  good.  Of  the 
meat  I  cannot  say  as  much.  My  Dutch  friend  tells  me 
that  mutton  is  hard  to  get  and  I  afterwards  found  it  so, 
and  the  reason  he  gives  is  that  sheep  are  killed  only  when 
they  cease  to  be  valuable  for  wool-bearing,  and  lamb  on 
the  table  is  an  almost  unheard-of  rarity.  Veal  is  the 
great  staple,  and  is  served  in  all  manner  of  forms  and  is 
generally  well  cooked.  The  soup,  which  is  good,  is  plen- 
tifully besprinkled,  especially  in  the  north,  with  cinna- 
mon; it  is  rather  full  of  greasy  "eyes"  and  contains  forced 
meat  balls  or  tiny  sausages.  To  a  hungry  man  who  has 
spent  the  day  sight-seeing  this  food  is  more  or  less  palat- 
able and  is  generally  served  with  a  huge  flagon  of  beer. 
The  dining-rooms  away  from  the  cities  in  the  small  towns 
are  invariably  redolent  of  tobacco,  for  the  Dutch  are  great 
smokers,  from  the  boy  of  five  in  the  street  to  the  nona- 
genarian. Eggs  are  always  eaten  cold  for  breakfast  and 
are  served  in  a  huge  bowl  in  the  shell  with  various  kinds 
of  cheeses  sliced  and  crumbled,  a  pot  of  boiling  water, 
and  a  little  caddy  full  of  tea  with  which  one  is  supposed 
to  make  his  own  tea.  After  a  few  essays  at  tea-making 
the  tourist  is  expected  to  become  quite  expert,  but  my  own 

91 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

experiences  are  fresh  in  my  mind  and  are  too  unsuccessful 
to  dwell  upon  here. 

In  studying  Zeeland  [pronounced  "Sayland"],  the 
traveler  would  better  make  his  headquarters  at  Middel- 
burg  rather  than  at  Flushing,  for  I  found  the  hotel  dis- 
tinctly better  at  the  first-named  town,  and  its  situation  is 
certainly  fascinating — occupying  as  it  does  one  side  of 
the  delightful  and  quiet  square  enclosed  by  the  walls  of 
the  Abdij  [Abbey],  as  the  Dutch  oddly  spell  it.  There, 
amid  a  grove  of  trees,  one  has  a  glimpse  of  delicate  spires 
and  a  charming  fagade — the  headquarters  of  the  present 
Provincial  Council,  who,  meeting  in  a  fifteenth-century 
hall,  have  had  the  temerity  and  taste  (or  lack  of  it)  to 
furnish  it  with  "art  nouveau"  furniture.  A  proverb  of 
the  Middelburger  reads  "Goed  rond,  goed  Zeuwsch"; 
that  is,  "well  rounded,  very  Zeelandish,"  and  certainly 
many  of  the  inhabitants  bear  it  out,  and  the  shape  of  the 
town  as  well,  as  it  curves  about  the  "Abdij."  Here  one 
notices  for  the  first  time  the  peculiar  appearance  of  the 
women,  who  are  comely,  red-cheeked,  and  otherwise  quite 
delightful  to  behold  in  their  lace-frilled  caps  and  bright 
shawls.  The  peculiarity  is  in  the  color  of  their  arms. 
The  sleeves  of  their  waists  are  cut  off  high  above  the  el- 
bow and  so  tightly  worn  that  the  bare  arm  from  thence 
down  seems  bursting  from  the  pressure  above,  and  ex- 
panding, takes  on  the  color  of  a  ripe  reddish  plum  mot- 

92 


"THE  HOLLOW  LAND" 

tied  with  delicate  violet  tints — most  unpleasant  to  the 
sight. 

Middelburg  presents  a  bright  and  happy  exterior. 
There  is  everywhere  the  aspect  and  evidence  of  fresh 
paint;  even  the  tree-trunks  and  plaster  casts  of  statuary 
in  the  gardens  are  touched  up  with  the  paint  and  white- 
wash brush.  The  doors  are  immaculately  white,  likewise 
the  marble  steps,  reminding  one  (as  elsewhere  noted)  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  shutters  of  the  windows  are  orna- 
mented, often  with  a  curious  hour-glass-shaped,  painted 
ornament,  which  I  am  informed  is  the  conventional  form 
of  curtains  draped  back  behind  the  glass,  and  it  may  be  so. 
It  is  certainly  quaint.  Green  paint  is  lavishly  used  too, 
and  the  freedom  is  sometimes  questionable,  but  in  the 
main  the  effect  is  pleasing  from  its  very  novelty. 

One  is  awakened  in  the  morning  by  the  profoundly 
plaintive  music  of  the  bells  and  carillon  and  of  Long  John 
(De  lange  Jan)  in  the  tall  tower  of  the  Abbey  at  the 
"Nieuw  Kerk."  Day  and  night  his  voice  is  heard  over 
Middelburg  every  seven  and  a  half  minutes,  eight  times 
in  the  hour.  Think  of  it,  forty-one  bells  every  seven  and 
a  half  minutes!  Happy  the  man  who  can  sleep  under 
such  a  bombardment.  As  for  me,  I  like  it,  for  my  student 
days  were  spent  under  the  eaves  in  a  small  red-tile-floored 
room  in  Antwerp  in  the  very  shadow  of  the  cathedral, 
and  I  love  the  bells,  the  beautiful  silvery,  deliberate, 

93 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

persistent  chime.  The  chimes  are  played  by  small  ham- 
mers which  connect  with  a  drum  like  that  of  a  music-box, 
and  this  is  revolved  by  the  clock  machinery.  Here  at 
Middelburg  is  another  celebrity  (Gekke  Betje)  Foolish 
Betsey — so  called  from  her  steady  willfulness  in  disre- 
garding her  obligations  to  Long  John.  Betsey  is  the 
great  clock  in  the  Stad-Huis,  and  is  the  pride  of  the  town 
even  though  she  will  not  keep  correct  time. 

One  very  curious  custom  will  strike  the  traveler,  that  is 
the  railing  (generally  of  brass  brightly  polished)  main- 
tained by  every  house  owner  across  the  side-walk  in  front 
of  the  house  at  each  side  of  his  property,  making  it  im- 
possible for  the  passer-by  to  use  it.  My  inquiries  as  to 
the  meaning  of  this  were  answered  by  uplifted  eyebrows, 
a  stare,  and  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  so  I  forbore.  But 
the  streets  and  houses  are  certainly  an  unending  enter- 
tainment. There  is  something  at  every  turn  to  charm 
one  from  its  novelty  and  unusualness:  a  rosy-cheeked 
maid  with  her  skirts  tucked  between  her  knees  scrubbing 
the  already  seemingly  immaculate  door-step;  a  sleepy, 
fat  baby  in  a  low-wheeled  box,  while  a  puppy  content- 
edly licks  its  pudgy  face;  a  dog-cart  filled  with  golden 
brass  and  ruddy  copper  milk  cans ;  a  gathering  of  ancient 
lace-becapped  women,  placidly  drinking  tea  in  an  arbor 
bearing  the  painted  motto,  ''Lust  in  Dusf  (Pleasure  in 
Rest) ;  two  hip- jacketed,  wide-breeched  peasant  boys  gaz- 
ing into  each  other's  eyes  in  a  sort  of  trance,  and  saying 

94 


"THE  HOLLOW  LAND" 

not  one  word  while  I  watched  them  covertly  for  fully 
three  minutes  by  the  watch;  the  glint  of  sunlight  on  the 
patches  of  moss  on  the  side  of  a  moored  barge  in  the  canal, 
and  the  long  reflections  of  its  sails  and  cordage  in  the 
sluggishly  moving  water.  There  is  an  interesting  mu- 
seum, bearing  the  sign  "Zeeuwsch  Genootschap  der  Wet- 
enschappen,"  dedicated  to  the  history  of  Zeeland,  con- 
taining many  shells  and  some  stuffed  birds ;  Admiral  Ruy- 
ter's  wheel  on  which  he  made  rope  when  a  boy;  the  first 
telescope,  made  by  Zacharias  Jansen,  the  inventor;  two 
of  the  first  microscopes  (1590)  ;  a  room  furnished  in  the 
Zeeland  style  of  old,  and  other  curious  and  interesting 
objects  which  may  detain  the  visitor.  The  other  towns 
of  Walcheren,  Westcapelle,  Domburg,  Arnemuiden,  and 
Veere,  can  be  easily  reached  from  Middelburg  on  foot  or 
conveyance,  as  one  prefers.  Of  these,  the  most  curious 
and  charming  is  Veere — silent,  dead,  once  the  chief  rival 
of  Middelburg,  but  now  well  nigh  deserted  and  aban- 
doned. 


9^ 


j)ntt 


aN  ancient  and  decayed  town" — so  it  is  styled  in  the 
few  books  that  deign  to  mention  it,  and  yet  the 
present  writer  makes  bold  to  give  up  a  whole  chap- 
ter to  its  charms. 

The  level  embossed  stretches  of  gray  green  plain  and 
meadow,  bounded  by  silvery  water-ways,  are  quite  domi- 
nated by  the  vast  and  mysterious  gray  tower  which  can 
be  seen  from  any  spot  for  miles  around.  This  shows  just 
where  lies  Veere.  Napoleon  made  it  his  headquarters 
when  he  overran  the  Netherlands,  and  the  people  have 
never  forgiven  nor  forgotten  the  desecration  of  its  great 
old  church  which  he  used  as  a  stable  for  his  horses.  A 
splendidly  paved  road  leads  to  it  across  the  island  of 
Walcheren.  This  road  [Grintwegen]  is  kept  in  admir- 
able repair,  and  toll  is  collected  at  both  ends  for  a  round 
trip,  no  matter  whether  one  means  to  return  that  way  or 
not.  There  are  also  secondary  roadways  [Straatwegen] 
paved  with  brick  [klinkers]  which  are  most  welcome  to 
horse  and  driver  in  showery  weather.  These  roads  are 
supplied  with  guide  posts,  and  where  there  are  dangerous 
marshy  spots,  they  are  indicated  by  warnings  which  sound 
oddly  to  strangers,  as  for  instance  "Gevaar-lyke-helling" 

96 


VEERE 

— which  seems  like  profanity,  and  is  intended  perhaps  to 
be  emphatic. 

Pattering  along  one  of  these  roadways  during  a  gentle 
rainfall  in  the  swinging,  high-bodied  Tilbury,  with  its 
quaint  sashed  windows  of  four  panes,  set  in  unnecessarily 
heavy  white  painted  frames,  and  under  a  top  that  seemed 
built  to  last  forever,  we  looked  out  over  the  drenched 
meadows,  or  over  the  capped  head  of  the  somnolent,  red- 
faced  driver,  who  sat  on  the  small  seat  sideways  much  as 
if  he  were  steering  a  boat,  viewing  the  watery-straight 
road  stretching  along  into  the  dim  horizon  now  and  again 
blocked  out  by  the  nodding  head  of  the  fat  mare.  We 
much  preferred  this  mode  of  travel  to  the  stage  in  which 
we  might  have  made  the  journey.  Something  of  snob- 
bery and  quite  exclusive,  but  the  Dutch  approve  of  it,  and 
perhaps  nowhere  else  would  the  expenditure  of  a  sum 
equal  to  thrice  the  moderate  stage  fare  bring  about  a  like 
result  as  this  extravagance  of  a  private  Tilbury  on  the 
three  and  a  half  mile  journey  from  Middelburg  to  Veere. 

If  you  fancy  history,  you  may  trace  for  yourself  the 
track  of  the  invading  Spaniards  of  this  small  island. 
Walcheren  is  jeweled  all  about  with  joys  for  the  appre- 
ciative. Not  a  village  hereabouts  but  has  its  quaint  his- 
tory and  individualism.  The  inhabitants  have  ever  been 
famed  for  pluck  and  bravery.  Philip  of  Spain  they 
drowned  out  by  flooding  the  dykes,  and  then  they 
pumped  out  the  water,  and  patched  up  the  holes  with  sod. 

97 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

Quoth  Philip:  "If  you  want  to  conquer  the  men  of 
Walcheren  you  must  first  cut  off  their  arms  and  legs/' 

The  driver  pointed  out  an  old  willow  stump  which  he 
said  was  named  "The  Patroon."  It  is  now  but  a  hollow 
half  shell,  hardly  more  than  bark  and  seeming  charred 
and  blackened  by  fire.  "Round  its  girth,"  he  says,  "in 
my  youth,  four  of  us  could  not  join  hands."  Its  whole 
heart  is  gone,  and  it  has  the  look  of  an  upright  roll  of 
charred  wrapping  paper  with  great  rents  in  its  sides. 
This  thin  cylinder  supports  and  succors  three  large 
branches  with  their  weight  of  luxuriant  foliage.  This  is 
the  famed  haunted  willow  tree,  in  which  according  to 
legend  dwells  the  spook  of  a  Spanish  grandee,  who  terri- 
fies the  belated  peasantry  on  stormy  or  foggy  nights  with 
moans,  and  a  phosphorescent  display,  but  just  why  the 
ghost  of  a  Spanish  grandee  should  go  to  all  this  trouble 
after  all  these  years  the  driver  either  could  not  or  would 
not  explain. 

Our  questions  were  interrupted  by  the  noise  of  a  rat- 
tling black  old  stage-coach  which  overtook  and  passed 
us.  It  was  laden  with  a  bevy  of  rosy-cheeked  peasant 
girls  who  for  some  unexplained  reason  regarded  us  as  pro- 
vocative of  mirth.  As  they  passed  us  they  laughed  and 
shouted  and  waved  their  hands. 

Our  driver,  apparently  stung  by  something  they  said, 
lets  fly  at  them  various  strange  sounding  gutturals,  at 
which  they  seem  to  shrink.     He  snaps  his  whip  in  the  air, 

98 


Veere — The  Return  to  Port 


i:if>Tj  Axo  OF  TO-DAY 

-r'-.'.,.       '"     """"1    of 

Jl 

ump  which  he 

1 ...  -  1. ,11, ... 


miMi  graiiucc:,  wxiu 
nti>  u.  Lormy  or  foggy  nights 

em  display,  but  just  wh 


t      11 


^•t<^*^\    (>\    UUW»H   'i\\'\  i\ii    \ 


VEERE 

and  hurls  at  the  grinning  driver  one  bitter  word  laden 
with  all  the  vehemence  he  can  command,  It  sounded  to 
me  like  "Verdamt  koekbakkers  I'*  The  other's  eyes 
blazed  in  wrath,  and  he  whipped  up  his  horses,  and  away 
they  went.  We  were  some  distance  farther  on  before  I 
asked  our  driver  what  he  had  said. 

"Alst-u-blieft,  mynheer,"  he  replied — "I  called  them 
'Bakers'  cats'  " — and  then  his  explanation,  choked  with 
indignation,  became  so  involved  and  idiomatic  that  I 
quite  lost  the  meaning  of  his  words.  Soon  he  lapsed  into 
silence.  Evidently  our  approach  was  heralded  at  Veere 
by  the  young  girls  whom  he  had  so  ungallantly  styled 
"Bakers'  cats,"  for  when  our  Tilbury  drew  up  to  the 
door  of  the  inn  we  had  an  escort  of  children  who  ranged 
themselves  about  us  to  celebrate  our  arrival  in  the 
high-waisted  wagon,  to  the  manifest  exasperation  of 
our  driver.  It  may  be  that  we  presented  a  sufficiently 
strange  appearance  to  warrant  all  this  excitement,  but  the 
kindly  and  courteous  welcome  of  the  bowing  and  smiling 
landlord  who  received  us  at  the  open  doorway  was  much 
to  our  relief,  and  we  left  the  driver  to  settle  matters  with 
the  boys  and  girls,  with  confidence  in  his  vocabu- 
lary. ... 

This  little  forgotten  village  seems  asleep,  but  one  finds 
it  a  sort  of  senile  sleep,  with  one  eye  cunningly  open,  and 
that  to  the  main  chance.  The  stranger  within  the  gates 
is  not  overconscious  of  the  espionage  to  which  one  is  sub- 

99 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

jcctcd.  His  comings  and  goings,  seemingly  ignored  by 
the  quaint  populace,  really  are  attended  with  much  spec- 
ulation, and  each  detail  of  his  movements  carefully 
watched  and  recorded  by  one  and  all,  whether  indoors 
or  out. 

Our  promenade  from  the  house  which  sheltered  us  to 
the  ruined  castle  at  the  harbor  mouth,  was  followed  by 
dozens  of  curious  eyes  turned  upon  us  from  behind 
quaintly  shuttered  windows  masked  by  festooned  lace 
curtains.  Outside  mirrors  cunningly  set  reflected  us  into 
those  dimly  lighted  rooms,  which  we  longed  to  penetrate. 
We  found  it  a  quaint  pastime  to  walk  close  to  the  house 
fronts,  and  gazing  into  these  little  mirrors  find  our  eager 
eyes  met  by  a  pair  of  calm  ones  whose  scrutiny  quite  put 
us  out  of  countenance  for  the  time  being. 

The  village  stands  back  somewhat  from  the  harbor 
mouth,  and  the  quiet  canals  that  meander  through  the 
soft  green  of  the  rich  meadows,  seem  aloof  from  the  tur- 
bulence of  the  North  Sea.  The  surrounding  country  is 
smooth  and  green,  without  undulations,  and  pleasant 
roads  and  paths  strike  through  it  in  many  directions,  lead- 
ing to  other  quaint  villages,  which  we  have  not  yet  vis- 
ited, nor  are  we  in  any  haste  to  do  so.  **One  should 
really  leave  something  to  the  imagination,"  says  Lady 
Anne. 

On  these  pleasant  roads  the  song  of  the  lark  is  fre- 
quently heard;  there  are  the  grassy  banks  of  the  dykes  all 

ICX) 


VEERE 

clad  in  gay  wild  flowers,  and  on  the  meadows  black  and 
white  cows  are  contentedly  grazing.  Here  in  this  quiet 
locality  nothing  seems  to  happen.  You  may  walk  day  by 
day  encountering  nothing  more  noteworthy  than  an  occa- 
sional Tilbury  drawn  by  a  fat  horse,  whose  head  is  car- 
ried sidewise  so  that  he  may  constantly  see  the  occupants 
of  the  wagon.  Or  maybe  a  troop  of  children  laden  with 
eel  baskets,  or  perchance  a  melancholy  funeral  procession 
from  some  remote  village  with  the  mourners  following  the 
hearse  on  foot,  as  is  the  custom. 

Season  follows  season  in  most  orderly  fashion.  All  is 
unhurried,  and  placid,  and  somnolent.  Time  in  Veere  is 
measured  by  the  chimes  in  the  old  tower  on  the  market 
place.  And  their  tinkling  notes,  always  in  tune,  lull  one 
to  sleep  after  the  sun  goes  down,  for  then  Veere  puts  up 
its  shutters,  and  fastens  its  doors.  There's  nought  else 
to  do,  the  mail  is  in,  and  the  fire-master  has  lighted  the 
lamp  in  the  old  tower  at  the  harbor  mouth.  Mynheer 
smokes  his  final  pipe,  Mevrouwe  drinks  her  last  cup  of 
tea,  and  the  day  thus  ends. 

All  of  the  houses  are  old — very  old !  On  the  facades 
of  faded  brick  may  be  seen  remote  dates,  cast  in  iron  by 
clever  smiths;  these  are  called  "ancons,"  and  many  of 
them  are  real  works  of  art.  The  trees  are  all  old  too, 
well  mossed,  and  well  cared  for  at  the  same  time;  count- 
less families  of  birds  have  bred  and  sung  out  their  little 
lives  in  their  branches.     Centuries  have  come  and  gone 

101 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

over  this  little  town,  leaving  no  more  trace  than  the  snow- 
flakes  of  yesterday.  The  old  castle  is  now  inhabited  by 
blackbirds  and  owls.  The  moat  behind  reflects  its  mel- 
lowed walls  in  dark  water  that  never  seems  to  have  been 
disturbed ;  all  is  old.  On  that  memorable  day  in  August, 
1914,  when  the  war  lord  overran  Belgium,  these  placid 
old  men,  and  these  erect,  austere,  bare-armed  women  in 
their  wonderful  costumes,  stood  in  the  market-place,  ex- 
changing the  small  talk  of  the  moment,  without  the  least 
suspicion  that  the  day  would  be  famous  forever  in  his- 
tory. Thus  Veere  in  the  Walcheren  has  seen  the  trees 
bud,  the  apples  ripen,  and  the  tides  rise  and  fall,  and 
thus  the  time  passes  here. 

Sitting  in  the  wide  window  of  the  room  on  the  small 
square  of  the  tinkling  chimes,  there  is  food  for  much 
thought.  Here  the  old  "Stathouders"  sat  on  the  narrow 
bench  below,  and  smoked  their  pipes  ruminatively;  dis- 
cussed the  news  of  the  day  from  abroad  and  the  price  of 
cheese  at  home.  The  last  ruddy  rays  of  the  setting  sun 
glinted  on  the  windows  of  the  castle  on  the  dyke  end,  as 
the  great  Admiral  De  Ruyter  passed  into  the  beyond. 
The  two  famous  old  houses  *'Het  Lammetje"  and  ''Het 
Struis"  dated  a.  d.  1500,  and  the  lofty  Town  Hall,  ante- 
dating them  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  eloquently  voice 
the  glories  of  the  past.  These  staunch  walls,  built  be- 
fore the  time  of  Shakespeare,  have  witnessed  what  his- 
tories unrecorded  *?     The  soil  itself  is  of  course  prehis- 

102 


VEERE 

toric,  but  these  heavy  stone  and  brick  walls  affect  one 
strangely  because  of  the  human  hands  that  constructed 
them,  now  long  turned  to  dust. 

As  with  other  towns  in  Zeeland,  since  we  first  hap- 
pened on  them,  we  found  Veere  gradually  growing  more 
quaint,  interesting,  and  yes,  somehow  more  beautiful. 
It  consists  simply  of  a  very  old  castle  at  the  harbor  mouth, 
a  few  straggling  streets;  some  old,  old  houses,  and  an 
older  Town  Hall  built  by  the  great  Keldermans,  who 
constructed  those  lovely  architectural  masterpieces  at 
Louvain,  at  Oudenaarde,  and  at  Brussels  in  Belgium. 
The  old  town,  sometimes  dimmed  in  a  blue  haze  of  peat 
smoke,  lies  embossed  upon  an  emerald  shield,  studded 
and  lined  with  silvery  waterways.  Banks  of  wild  flow- 
ers are  at  almost  every  green  painted  housedoor.  From 
the  upper  windows  of  the  Town  Hall,  Veere  can  be  seen 
in  a  few  glances.  Nought  can  look  more  tranquil. 
About  the  smoky  chimneys  the  swifts  fly  gracefully,  and 
the  slowly  moving  brown  arms  of  the  windmills  of  Myn- 
heer Perck  show  that  both  he  and  his  two  lusty  sons  are  at 
work.  A  chance  passing  sunbeam  illumines  momentarily 
a  whitewashed  wall  at  the  end  of  the  street  where  the 
willows  are  thickest,  and  below  a  young  woman  in  a 
blue  striped  skirt  bears,  from  a  green  yoke  on  her  shoul- 
ders, a  pair  of  brightly  burnished  brass  milk  cans,  her 
strong  arms  showing  red  in  the  sunlight  as  she  swings  lus- 
tily along  over  the  rough  stones.     It  makes  a  quaint  pic- 

103 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ture  filled  with  mellow  golden  and  misty  blue  tones 
which  quite  charms  from  the  painter's  viewpoint. 

The  soft  summer  light  is  over  all  these  mellow  toned 
roofs  of  old  rose  and  gray.  Everywhere  one  sees  quaint 
vistas,  hears  the  drowsy  hum  of  the  old  mill,  and  smells 
the  scent  of  blossoms  and  sweet  green  grass.  True,  there 
are  sometimes  wafted  hither  evil  odors  from  the  muddy 
mouth  of  the  old  harbor,  but  these  interest  us  not  at  all. 
Have  I  not  elsewhere  said  that  this  is  a  journey  of  senti- 
ment? 

In  a  most  delightful  little  book  called  "The  Log  of  the 
Ladybird"  is  the  following  description  of  this  sleepy 
town:  "Veere  was  once  a  large  and  thriving  town;  the 
huge  church  which  has  never  been  finished,  looks  deso- 
late, the  place  having  shrunk  away  to  almost  a  hamlet, 
though  the  grass  grown  walls,  standing  out  far  in  the 
fields,  mutely  testify  to  its  old  magnificence.  The  Town 
Hall  is  a  delightful  little  building,  with  a  high  pointed 
roof  and  a  double  row  of  fantastic  dormer  windows;  the 
front  is  carved  like  that  of  Middelburg,  with  statues,  and 
a  tower,  the  most  graceful  we  have  yet  seen,  finishes 
up  as  usual  with  a  bulb  and  bells,  a  golden  ship  crown- 
ing the  whole.  A  tiny  harbor  runs  up  the  main  street, 
which  is  overgrown  with  grass  and  very  'knobbly.'  .  .  . 
Drowsiness  reigns  supreme.  During  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence the  hatred  between  the  Dutch  and  Spanish 
seemed  to  culminate  at  Veere,  where  a  heart  cut  from  a 

104 


V eere — The  Town  Hall 


tied   \ 


OF  TO-DAY 

^}rh^,^    *^''  misty  blue  tont^ 
viewpoint. 


i  iJ 

Ladyb 

town: 

!i!J^  C    <l    i.tlgC    Ui. 

huge  r^ 

1  _ .. , 

"^ver  been  iinisn* 
.-,1, -^  „i. 

Lii'. 

fte 

'i') 


iyls}V^i:'il\t 


ncc  tiit  iiairea,  ,, 

'  litiinatc -at  \  l^. 

ro4 


^panisii 
from  r> 


>••.:*.•  .:,••.'.• 


VEERE 

Spanish  prisoner  was  nailed  on  a  vessel's  prow,  and  the 
townsmen  invited  to  come  and  fix  their  teeth  in  it  I" 

But  Veere  has  long  since  forgotten  those  bloody  days 
of  the  Spanish  War. 

Lady  Anne,  who  was  with  me,  says  that  "Never  yet  was 
monarch's  robe  so  velvety  as  the  old  green  mossy  bank 
of  the  canal,  on  which  shines  the  evening  sun."  So  se- 
cluded is  this  old  town  of  Veere,  that  the  only  thing  that 
connects  it  with  the  world  outside  is  the  canal,  and  the 
long  level  white  road  stretching  towards  Middelburg. 
Sometimes  a  fat  horse  will  appear  lazily  trailing  a  high 
pooped  barge,  on  the  long  tiller  of  which  will  be  seated  a 
ruminating  Dutchman  smoking  a  long  stemmed  pipe. 
Noislessly  they  come  and  go,  these  amphibians;  up  and 
down  go  the  'Veep"  [wip]  bridges,  and  the  "Draaj" 
bridges  slide,  to  let  them  pass.  At  each  of  these  stopping 
places  is  a  "tapperij"  where  schnapps  and  geneva  are  to 
be  had,  and  this  is  a  famous  place  to  tarry  listening  to  the 
gossip.  At  first  they  were  rather  mystified  at  the  pres- 
ence of  the  stranger,  and  conversation  languished.  But 
before  many  days  had  passed.  Mynheer,  the  American 
and  his  lady  had  persuaded  them  of  their  amity,  and  the 
sketch  book  had  quite  disarmed  them.  We  were  thence- 
forth good  friends,  and  welcomed  whenever  we  chose  to 
stop  there. 

But  it  was  the  old  ruin  of  the  castle  which  most  at- 
tracted us.     Its  roof  had  fallen  in  here  and  there,  and  the 

105 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

old  part  which  had  been  the  chapel  is  quite  dangerous 
to  walk  in.  Gone  is  the  colored  glass  of  the  window,  to- 
gether with  the  incense,  the  deep  organ  notes  of  the  serv- 
ice, and  the  crimson  clad  priests,  as  well  as  the  meek 
monks  who  piously  prayed,  shrived  sinners,  and  emblaz- 
oned those  wondrous  parchments  now  enshrined  in  the 
Town  Hall.  The  people  of  Veere  have  little  or  no  re- 
spect for  the  ruin,  and  we  were  not  able  to  raise  one  sin- 
gle story  of  a  ghost,  or  even  a  haunted  chamber. 

Dukes,  duchesses  and  lords  of  high  degree  once  inhab- 
ited these  lofty  ceiled  rooms ;  knights  clad  in  mail,  their 
squires  bearing  their  crested  shields  at  right  hand,  have 
here  presented  their  tokens  of  fealty.  What  an  array  of 
ghosts  it  is  that  one  conjures  up  in  this  dusty  hall !  And 
now  it  is  without  honor,  without  interest  save  to  the 
chance  stranger  or  the  eccentric  antiquary.  Veere  vene- 
rates it  not,  but  A and  I  sat  there  on  the  dusty  bench 

peopling  the  rooms  with  shades  of  those  who  are  long 
dead.  Fathers,  mothers,  husbands  and  wives,  men  and 
women  living  lives  of  truth  and  honor;  knights  in  armor 
righting  wrongs  of  tender  maidens;  charity,  lust,  affec- 
tion, penitence,  warfare  and  peace.  All  these  passed  be- 
fore us  in  our  imaginings.  .  .  .  Grave  and  stern  still 
stands  this  ancient  castle  at  Veere,  silent  and  empty 
enough  now. 

Veere  as  a  town  has  but  few  intellectual  needs  or  de- 
sires, and  so  the  amusements  are  regulated  by  the  de- 

106 


VEERE 

mand.  There  is  a  schoolroom  on  the  square  where  enter- 
tainments are  occasionally  given,  such  as  a  "Cinnema," 
(as  the  "movies"  are  called  here)  and  these  are  very  pop- 
ular. Here  also  public  meetings,  such  as  are  not  official 
in  character,  are  held.  Lecturers  are  always  welcomed, 
especially  those  who  illustrate  by  means  of  colored  charts 
or  pictures.  Their  statements  are  always  received  with 
a  most  respectful  attention,  for  the  audience,  though  lis- 
tening breathlessly,  rarely  understands  much  of  what  is 
said.  Suffice  it  that  the  pastor  occupies  his  seat,  and  that 
the  postmaster  and  his  wife  (who  was  the  sister  of  the  late 
Burgomaster)  are  present.  Veere  is  then  content,  and 
the  lecture  is  voted  by  all  a  great  success.  Then  there  is 
the  Sunday  sermon  which  is  faithfully  attended  by  almost 
all.  The  people  of  Veere  are,  of  course,  Protestants,  and 
so  these  simple  people  are  content  to  worship  in  an  un- 
gainly bare  building,  seated  on  hard,  painted,  cushionless 
pews,  with  little  or  nothing  to  stir  the  imagination,  no 
painted  glass,  no  chorus  of  sweet  voices  rising  in  stimu- 
lating strains,  neither  silken  clad  priest,  nor  censor  swing- 
ing acolyte,  nothing  but  what  may  be  called  the  bare 
skeleton  of  religion  is  here  erected  by  these  austere  peo- 
ple. And  so  Veere,  the  deadest  town  in  all  Zeeland, 
sleeps  the  year  round.  I  like  to  remember  it  as  I  first 
beheld  it,  its  many  westward  looking  windows  gilded  by 
the  setting  sun ;  its  picturesquely  clad  children  romping 
in  the  quaint  old  square ;  the  white  coiff ed  women  knit- 

107 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ting  in  the  open  doorways,  and  the  men  gathered  on  the 
pier  heads  and  the  dyke  end  in  motionless  groups. 
Against  the  rosy  sky,  the  great  squat  tower  of  the  church 
standing  like  a  rock  with  clouds  of  rooks  flying  about  its 
crest,  and  the  long  lines  of  small  red  roofed  houses  emerg- 
ing here  and  there  from  the  clustering  pale  green  wil- 
lows. 

Domburg,  away  to  the  westward,  is  a  small  bath- 
ing resort,  reached  by  steam  tram  via  Koude- 
kerke  from  Middelburg.  At  Domburg  the  men  bathe 
to  the  right,  women  to  the  left.  An  ancient  and 
picturesque  man,  clad  in  red  flannel  and  armed  with 
a  fog-horn,  parades  the  sands  as  master  of  ceremonies  and 
recalls  the  adventurous  bather.  He  bears  on  his  back  in 
white  letters  the  word  "Badman,"  but  this  does  not,  I  am 
sure,  refer  to  his  character,  but  to  his  vocation.  The 
"Bad  Hotel,"  too,  belies  its  name.  It  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, excellent  in  every  way  though  expensive,  and  there 
are  several  other  good  hotels  here,  too. 

The  traveler  may  now  return  to  Middelburg  and 
Flushing  and  take  train  for  Rotterdam  by  way  of  Dor- 
trecht,  passing  through  Arnemuiden.  The  train  crosses 
an  embankment  over  the  Scheldt,  the  last  glimpse  of  the 
gigantic  church  of  Veere  vanishes  in  the  distance,  and 
Goes  (pronounced  *'Hoo-ez")  on  the  island  of  South 
Beveland,  with  its  red  roofs,  orchards,  and  lofty  church 
spire,  is  seen.     Now  the  train  enters  North  Brabant, 

108 


Goes — On  the  Way  to  Market 


AND  OF  TO-DAY 

ways,  and  the  men  gathered  on  the 

d   in    motionless  groups. 

)f  the  church 


nd  armed  with 

r  ceremonies  and 

nrous  bather.     He  bears  on  his  back  in 

1  /'Badmnn/'  but  this  does  not,  I  am 


'land,  with  iti^ftsdV/.  ...  ,>  u  ^M  «o — v^oi>       , 

r.   <-;rfTi.      Xov\?   the   train    ent.  rtli    Br;j.b:"in' 

108 


VEERE 

crossing  an  arm  of  the  sea,  and  arriving  at  Bergen-op- 
zoom,  a  dull  little  town  with  a  heavy-towered  church, 
passes  on  to  Dortrecht. 

Dort,  as  the  Dutch  lovingly  call  it,  "that  most  pic- 
turesquely deep-dyed  of  the  Dutch  towns,"  stands  on  an 
island  separated  from  the  mainland  during  the  flood  in 
1421  and  is  the  most  ancient  of  Dutch  towns,  dating  from 
the  tenth  century.  There  is  a  very  comfortable  small 
hotel  on  the  quay,  "The  Bellevue,"  where  the  eccentric 
Whistler  and  Van's  Gravesande  and  I  spent  many  happy 
evenings  together  some  years  ago,  watching  the  shipping 
on  the  river  and  discussing  art,  life,  and  things — eheu 
fugaces.  It  was  here  that  the  experience  of  this  erratic 
genius  with  the  fishwives  told  of  in  another  chapter  took 
place.  The  view  of  the  old  river  from  the  windows  of 
the  hotel  is  most  entertaining,  with  its  possession  of 
"tjalks"  and  barges,  and  the  mill  opposite  with  its  wav- 
ing brown-sailed  arms.  Dort's  leaning  houses,  we  are 
told  by  the  engineers,  are  the  result  of  design,  but 
whether  or  not,  they  are  most  alarmingly  curious,  for  one 
may  almost  reach  across  certain  of  the  streets  from  house 
to  house  at  the  upper  windows  and  clasp  hands  with  one's 
neighbors.  Certainly  no  other  town  occupies  its  place 
with  calmer  placidity,  nor  perhaps  has  any  other  so  me- 
dieval an  aspect.  The  canal,  far  below  the  street  level 
is  crossed  with  a  multitude  of  bridges.  Quainter  than 
Amsterdam,  it  is  the  nearest  in  resemblance  to  Venice, 

109 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

and  there  are  flights  of  steps  to  the  water  edge,  to  the 
moored  boats  where  the  loud  voiced  fisherwomen  wran- 
gle and  wash  clothes,  and  where  ancient  brick  walls  green 
and  mossy  rise  from  the  canals,  and  everywhere  is  bright 
green  paint,  growing  flowers  in  window  boxes,  caged 
starlings  and  placid  pussy  cats  sitting  beneath  them  on 
the  sills  of  the  windows.  Barges  are  constantly  passing 
and  the  presence  of  the  stranger  is  unnoticed,  nor  does  his 
easel  or  white  umbrella  awaken  more  than  passing  inter- 
est, for  the  people  are  used  to  artists.  On  the  Wijnstraat 
are  some  good  examples  of  the  quaint  houses  of  the  Han- 
seatic  period  with  roofs  rising  in  curious  steps.  The  Pic- 
ture Gallery  is  in  the  Linden  Gracht,  and  there  is  a  South 
African  Museum  adjoining  it.  The  Groot  Hoofd  Poort 
is  a  picturesque  gateway,  dating  from  1682,  of  red  brick 
enriched  with  rococco  escutcheons,  lions,  and  heads.  In- 
side is  a  sixteenth-century  Dutch  room  paneled  in  oak, 
and  here  are  also  some  fine  banners  of  the  ancient  guilds. 
The  Groot'Kirk  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  churches  in 
Holland.  The  choir  and  east  end  are  boarded  up  and 
discarded.  And  whisper !  I  saw  once  the  family  washing 
hung  up  on  a  line  to  dry  behind  the  altar  screen — true, 

it  was  on  a  week-day,  but  nevertheless The  organ, 

it  is  said,  has  three  manuals  and  63  stops.  There  is  a  fine 
white  marble  pulpit  (1756) .  The  screen  was  erected  in 
1744.  The  carved  choir  stalls,  which  were  willfully 
damaged  during  the  Reformation,  are  considered  the  fin- 

110 


VEERE 

est  in  Holland.  They  are  by  Aertz,  a  native  of  Dort.  I 
was  asked  to  notice  particularly  the  "Triumph,"  which 
depicts  the  Christ  and  a  sort  of  chariot  in  which  is  Satan 
lying  bound.  The  other  panels  were  more  interesting  to 
me,  however.  In  the  "Munt  Poort"  on  Voor  Straat  are 
some  fine  Renaissance  decorations.  Dort  was  the  birth- 
place of  Albert  Cuyp,  Nicholas  Maes,  and  Ferdinand 
Bol,  the  famous  painters.  There  is  a  statue  of  Ary 
Scheifer,  the  artist,  who  was  born  here.  His  pictures, 
too,  may  be  seen  in  the  Wijnstratt  at  the  museum. 

A  good  deal  of  business  is  carried  on.  Great  rafts  of 
timber  which  are  made  up  on  the  Rhine  in  Germany  are 
usually  broken  up  here  and  disposed  of — many  of  the 
large  windmills  about  the  town  are  used  to  saw  them  up 
into  boards. 

Founded  in  the  eleventh  century,  Dort  was  of  consid- 
erable importance  in  the  Middle  Ages  by  reason  of  its  cus- 
toms. All  products  brought  into  Holland  had  to  pay 
duty  at  Dort  until  the  envy  of  Rotterdam  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  portion  of  the  trade.  The  first  Congress  of 
the  Netherlands  Commonwealth  was  held  here  in  1572, 
and  while  proffering  loyalty  to  the  king,  determined  to 
uphold  the  policy  of  William  of  Orange.  This  was  a 
momentous  gathering  in  the  history  of  this  distressful 
country.  The  great  religious  Congress,  or  Synod,  of 
Dort  sat  here  for  nearly  two  years  (1618-19).  The 
Synod  cost  a  colossal  sum  in  expenses,  and  was  said  to  be 

ill 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

less  inspired  by  Christian  love  than  any  meeting  ever 
held  in  the  name  of  religion.  There  is  a  most  pictur- 
esque gateway  on  the  quay  of  dull  red  brick  with  quaint 
floriations  in  the  Dutch  Rococo  style,  and  a  dome  dated 
1682.  The  many  escutcheons,  lions'  heads,  and  orna- 
ments are  well  worth  studying.  The  museum  inside, 
too,  will  repay  one.  There  are  old  chests,  unique  large 
models  of  galleons  full-rigged,  and  a  Noah's  Ark  full  of 
animals.  There  are  also  many  cases  of  old  silver  turnip 
watches,  and  jewelry,  and  great  silken  faded  banners  of 
the  ancient  guilds. 

Charming  days  may  be  passed  round  about  old  Dort. 
Loitering  on  the  banks  of  the  picturesque  river  Merwede, 
one  notes  in  the  distance  the  square  tower  of  the  old 
church  rising  above  the  dark  thick  trees  of  the  town. 
The  river  life  is  very  busy  and  animated  with  the  pass- 
ing barges,  and  the  small  steamers  belching  forth  vol- 
umes of  heavy  brownish  smoke  from  their  thick  squatty 
funnels.  One  passes  "Beneden  Merwede"  and  the  "kill 
of  Dordrecht"  with  "  's  Gravendeel"  set  like  a  jewel 
amid  the  flat,  rush  bordered  green  meadows.  The  vil- 
lage street  descends  to  the  river,  with  small  red  tiled 
houses  of  delightful  character,  and  dominated  by  a  large 
gray  old  windmill  with  furiously  revolving  arms.  Then 
there  is  the  "Oude  Maas"  River,  crowded  with  sails  and 
great  rafts,  and  lined  with  charming  villages  inhabited 
by  fishermen,  between  the  "Ijsselmonde"  and  the  fertile 

112 


Goes — Jn  Oyster  Girl 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

kbcj  iii>pireci  by  Christian  love  than  any  meeting  ever 
held  •' ^  *^  -^me  of  religion.  There  is  a  most  pictur- 
esque ^a  '^  "   ^  ^.ull  red  brick  with  quaint 

'  -'■-—■■  ' "^     and  a  dome  dated 

'  -.J.    md  oma- 


cases  oi  oia  suver  lurnip 
ry,  ana  great  silken  faded  banners  of 

cnarmiii^  oc  passed  round  about  old  Dort. 

Loite  ine  canKs  of  the  picturesque  river  Merwede, 

one  notes  m  the  distance  the  square  tower  of  the  old 
church  rising  above  the  dark  thick  trees  of  the  town. 
The  river  life  is  very  busy  and  animated  with  the  pass- 


md  the  small  stear 

»rth  vol- 

>moke  tR 

-fy 

den  Merwea< 

1 

'  ndeeV*  set  i 

',     V 

ine  V  li- 

ed tiled 

large 

gra> 

there  j.^  tuc 

great  rafts,  ana  iin<;i> 

by  fishermen,  betweci  x  icrtuc 


VEERE 

"Hoekschenwaard,"  towards  the  "Nieuwe  Maas." 
Then  "Vlaardingen/'  the  market  for  the  great  herring 
fishery,  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  Neth- 
erlands. The  fleet  here  numbers  in  the  neighborhood  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  vessels,  occupying 
and  employing  about  fifteen  hundred  men.  This  and 
"Maasluis"  are  the  greatest  fish  markets  in  the  country. 
Rotterdam  is  reached  by  rail  or  steamer,  the  latter 
means  being  the  more  interesting,  in  about  an  hour  and 
a  half.  Of  its  200,000  inhabitants,  one-quarter  are  said 
to  be  Roman  Catholics,  and  there  are  about  7,000  Jews  to 
be  reckoned  with  in  trade.  It  is  named  from  its  situa- 
tion on  the  Rotte ;  that  is,  the  Dam  on  the  Rotte.  It  may 
be  described  as  a  most  novel  and  picturesque  medley  of 
water,  trees,  curious  drawbridges  and  vessels.  One  may 
loiter  for  hours  upon  the  Boompjes  (so  called  because  of 
its  row  of  beautiful  trees,  boompjes  being  the  Dutch  for 
trees,  or  little  trees) ,  which  is  the  place  "where  merchants 
most  do  congregate."  There  is  great  animation  and 
color  everywhere — the  streets  are  alive  with  people,  so 
that  one  can  realize  the  fact  that  Rotterdam  has  a  popula- 
tion of  over  200,000.  The  multitudinous  drawbridges 
are  being  constantly  raised  or  lowered  to  let  the  brightly 
and  picturesquely  painted  barges  pass,  and  the  delay  is 
most  cheerfully  borne  by  the  halted  pedestrian.  While 
it  is  not  a  particularly  clean  or  pleasant  city  to  visit  it  is 
very  cosmopolitan.     Its  chief  claim  to  fame  is  that  it  was 

113 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

the  birthplace  of  Erasmus,  and  his  bronze  statue  may  be 
seen  in  the  Groote  Markt  surrounded  by  fruit  stands  and 
jostling,  scolding,  chattering  peasant  women.  Another 
illustrious  son  is  that  exquisite  painter,  Pieter  de  Hooch, 
who  died  at  Haarlem  in  1681.  He  excelled  in  his  man- 
agement of  light.  Sunlight  diffused  is  one  of  his  myste- 
rious gifts  to  art;  his  pictures  are  bathed  in  it.  The 
traveler  may  linger  here  in  Rotterdam  for  a  few  hours  at 
any  rate,  and  visit  "Boymans'  Museum,"  where  he  will 
find  some  good  pictures,  and  at  the  "Museum  voor  Ge- 
schiedenes  en  Kunst"  a  fine  collection  of  old  furniture, 
glass,  Delft  ware,  and  weapons.  The  church  of  St. 
Lawrence  has  no  equal  in  the  country;  its  somber  gray 
tower  quite  dominates.  There  is  a  typical  great  wind- 
mill on  the  *'Cool  Singel,"  some  storks  in  the  Zoo,  and  a 
most  picturesque  and  busy  river. 

Lucas  says  "All  Dutch  towns  are  amphibious,"  but 
some  are  more  watery  than  others.  He  says,  too,  that 
they  do  not  swim  in  their  waters,  and  this  I  can  vouch 
for,  but  they  certainly  do  wash  everything  else  in  sight; 
such  a  splashing  and  a  dousing  as  goes  on  from  morning 
till  night  can  be  seen  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montagu  sent  an  interesting  letter  to  the 
Countess  de  Mar  in  1716  from  here.  She  says:  "All 
the  streets  are  paved  with  broad  stones,  and  before  the 
meanest  doors  are  seats  of  various  colored  marbles,  so 
neatly  kept  that  I  assure  you  I  walked  all  over  town 

114 


VEERE 

yesterday  'incognito'  in  my  slippers  without  receiving  one 
spot  of  dirt/'  There  have  been  some  changes  since  Lady 
Mary's  day,  but  in  the  main  her  account  reads  as  if  writ- 
ten to-day. 

And  now  we  will  pay  a  short  visit  to  Gouda  (pro- 
nounced Hooda),  sometimes  called  Ter  Gouw  [the  pro- 
nunciation of  this  word  is  impossible  to  give  in  type], 
where  we  find  a  fine  church  surmounted  by  a  bulbous 
tower  sufficiently  picturesque  to  satisfy  one,  and  some 
magnificent  stained  glass  windows  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  There  are  twenty-nine  large  and 
thirteen  small  windows  presented  by  various  princes,  cor- 
porations, etc.  The  best  of  them  are  the  twelve  by  the 
brothers  Wouter  and  Dirk  Crabath  in  1555-57,  and  of 
their  pupils.  Before  each  window  is  thoughtfully 
placed  a  cartoon  of  its  subject.  Perhaps  such  an  assem- 
blage of  antique  glass  can  be  seen  nowhere  else.  One 
may  examine  window  after  window  in  wonder  at  its 
beauty  and  quality  and  marvel  that  the  town  was  not 
long  since  despoiled  of  its  treasures.  From  here  to  The 
Hague  is  but  seventeen  miles  by  rail.  We  shall,  how- 
ever, defer  our  visit  to  this  town,  the  favorite  residence  of 
the  royal  family,  until  another  chapter. 


115 


WxtM 


mY  Dutch  friend  having  left  me  temporarily,  I  was 
thrown  on  my  own  resources,  and  leaving  my 
baggage  at  the  station,  I  wended  my  way  down 
to  the  "Catherijne  Kade,"  crossing  the  canal.  Natu- 
rally of  a  modest  and  retiring  disposition,  I  do  not  court 
undue  notoriety  and  observation.  This  is  necessary  to 
state  here  because  alighting  from  the  train  at  Utrecht,  I 
immediately  became  aware  that  I  was  for  some  reason 
an  object  of  attraction.  The  porters  were  rather  unusu- 
ally attentive  to  my  luggage,  and  when  I  tipped  them 
they  grinned  broadly  and  winked  at  one  another.  I  was 
curious  as  to  their  actions,  but  it  was  when  passing  over 
the  bridge  on  the  Rijnkade  that  I  met  a  number  of  school- 
children, and  to  my  amazement,  something  in  my  appear- 
ance convulsed  them  with  laughter,  and  with  shouts  and 
gesticulations,  they  turned  and  ran  on  ahead  of  me,  walk- 
ing backward  as  children  do,  and  staring  at  me  the  while. 
In  vain  I  looked  myself  over,  felt  of  my  hat,  my  hair,  and 
my  collar,  which  seemed  all  correct  and  in  place.  At- 
tracted by  the  noise,  men  and  women  appeared  at  shop 
doors  and,  when  I  passed,  fell  in  behind  me,  and  soon  I 

116 


UTRECHT 

was  at  the  head  of  a  long,  straggling  procession,  which 
closed  in  upon  my  heels  in  a  most  uncomfortable  manner, 
and  it  was  only  by  dodging  through  an  alley  and  turning 
on  my  steps,  then  through  the  Stadhuisbrug  and  back  to 
the  quiet  streets  by  the  canal,  that  I  managed  to  elude 
my  pursuers.  ''What,"  pondered  I,  "is  the  matter  with 
my  appearance'?"  and  I  stepped  into  a  little  shop  which 
displayed  some  books  in  a  window,  and  bore  the  sign 
"Boekhandlerij,"  and  to  the  clerk  behind  the  counter 
asked  did  he  '  'see  anything  strange  in  my  costume' '  ^  He 
came  out  from  behind  his  counter  and  looked  me  over 
critically,  then  he  too  grinned.  His  answer  dumf ounded 
me.  "Does  Mynheer  pull  the  teeth  to-day*?"  Briefly 
told  it  transpired  that  a  couple  of  itinerant  quack  dentists 
had  been  in  town  the  day  before,  that  they  carried  Amer- 
ican flags,  and  had  extracted  teeth  free  of  charge  in  the 
Cathedral  square,  selling  tooth-powder,  besides,  restor- 
ing miraculously  the  whiteness  of  black  teeth  in  one  ap- 
plication. "But  why,"  said  I,  "am  I  thus  followed?  I 
am  no  dentist."  He  pointed  to  my  feet.  "Why,  Myn- 
heer wears  the  yellow  shoes  like  the  others ;  never  before 
have  we  seen  such  in  Utrecht,  therefore  the  people  think 
Mynheer  a  dentist."  I  fled  back  to  the  station,  and  there 
my  comfortable  tan  shoes  were  promptly  consigned  to  the 
depths  of  my  traveling  kit. 

Utrecht  lies  peacefully  in  the  midst  of  verdant  fields 
and  vast,  deep  woods.     Its  parks  are  charming;  it  has  a 

117 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

fine  campanile,  opulent-looking  houses,  and  a  university. 
Its  canals  are  different  from  those  of  other  Dutch  towns, 
inasmuch  as  they  lie  considerably  below  the  level  of  the 
streets.  There  are  practically  two  roadways,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  waterway,  the  upper  lined  with  prosper- 
ous-looking shops  and  well-appearing  buildings,  form- 
ing a  sort  of  roof  for  a  lower  line  of  vaults  and  stores 
which  give  upon  the  lower  level  to  the  canal.  The  effect 
is  picturesque  and  novel.  The  Cathedral  is  only  a  sort 
of  fragment,  as  the  nave  was  destroyed  by  a  storm  in 
1674.  From  the  vastness  of  the  tower,  it  must  have  been 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  important  in  the  Netherlands. 
It  stands  upon  the  opposite  side  of  a  large  square.  The 
interior  of  the  remaining  portion  is  disfigured  by  un- 
sightly woodwork,  but  it  contains  some  very  interesting 
monuments.  From  the  tower,  a  level  country  is  visible 
for  miles,  with  its  towns  and  villages  shining  in  the  sun- 
light. The  "Malieban"  or  Mall  is  a  charming  avenue  of 
lime  trees,  three  rows  deep  on  either  side  and  more  than 
a  mile  long,  and  forms  one  of  the  finest  promenades  in 
the  Netherlands.  The  city  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
Jansenists,  a  curious  Roman  Catholic  sect,  founded  in  the 
fifteenth  century  by  Cornelius  Jansen.  They  form  a 
separate  communion  in  Holland,  numbering  some  six 
thousand,  and  it  is  said  "bull"  after  "bull"  has  been  prom- 
ulgated against  them  by  various  Popes.  A  very  ancient 
city,  Utrecht  has  a  very  interesting  history.     In  early 

118 


UTRECHT 

days  when  the  country  was  subject  to  the  Romans,  it  was 
known  as  "Trajectum  ad  Rhenum,"  that  is,  Ford  of  the 
Rhine.  Its  first  bishop  was  Wilibrod,  an  Anglo-Saxon, 
who  came  from  England  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Wal- 
cheren.  The  prince-bishops  of  Utrecht  were  famous  for 
their  power  and  wealth,  and  ruled  with  the  counts  of 
Holland  for  many  centuries.  Here  was  signed  in  1579 
the  famous  treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  union  of  the  southern 
provinces,  the  foundation  of  the  Netherlands  republic. 

The  saying  of  Erasmus,  who  waxed  witty  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Amsterdam,  and  compared  the  Amsterdam 
people  to  "crows  living  in  the  tops  of  trees,"  need 
not  be  quoted  further,  as  every  traveler  refers  to  it  in 
detail,  but  it  is  certain,  as  the  guide  books  say,  that 
"were  the  city  turned  upside  down  it  would  present 
the  appearance  of  a  forest  of  bare  tree  trunks."  The 
Exchange,  I  am  informed,  rests  upon  some  3,500  piles 
driven  into  the  sand.  There  is  so  much  to  be  seen  in 
Amsterdam  that  one  is  at  a  loss  where  to  begin ;  the  canals 
are  filled  with  huge  ships  and  barges  busily  loading  and 
discharging  cargoes,  and  in  the  streets  are  seen  vast  heaps 
of  casks  and  bales,  and  facing  them  shops  crowded  with 
people;  here  the  shopmen  and  clerks,  there  the  rough 
wandering  sailors  and  boatmen  wide-breeched  and  ear- 
ringed.  The  city  is  most  confusing  in  its  configuration. 
The  north  side  is  given  up  to  the  docks  on  the  Ij  (pro- 
nounced "Eye") .     It  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe, 

119 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

and  the  streets  radiate  from  the  "Dam"  like  a  spider's 
web.  The  Dam  is  therefore  the  center  or  hub  and  pre- 
sents a  busy  aspect  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  On  the 
Rembrandt  Plein  the  scene  is  very  animated  and  gay 
on  fine  evenings  with  the  crowds,  and  the  lighted  cafes, 
and  the  cosmopolitan  gathering.  But  it  is  the  river  front 
which  will  attract  the  tourist,  and  leaning  upon  the  rail 
of  a  bridge  one's  nostrils  are  greeted  with  the  odors  from 
strange  bales  of  goods,  of  tar,  and  the  smell  of  cooking 
from  the  galleys  of  the  vessels.  And  one  may  not  linger 
long  upon  the  bridge,  either,  for  there  is  the  constant  rais- 
ing and  lowering  of  the  draws  to  let  the  boats  pass  to  and 
fro.  The  rattle  of  the  chain  and  block  mingles  with  the 
roar  of  wheels,  and  the  noisy  whistles  on  the  tugs,  the 
jangle  of  chimes  from  the  steeples,  and  the  guttural 
shouts  of  the  boatmen.  Huge  "Boms"  pass  in  tow  of 
diminutive  tugs,  carriages  pass  side  by  side  with  the 
boats,  sails  are  mirrored  in  shop  windows,  and  the  rigging 
is  reflected  in  the  water  of  the  canal.  From  the  Dam 
start  the  numerous  tramways  with  attending  crowds  in 
swarms,  soldiers  are  on  duty  before  the  Palace,  mer- 
chants hurry  to  and  from  the  exchange,  shoppers  pass  to 
and  from  the  Kalverstraat,  and  peasants  in  curious  cos- 
tumes from  the  country  stand  and  gaze  in  wonder.  Ac- 
cording to  a  quaint  custom  during  the  last  week  in  August 
the  small  boys  of  the  city  are  permitted  to  make  a  play- 
ground of  the  "Beurs"  or  exchange,  a  privilege  granted 

120 


Amsterdam 


LAND  OF   lU-JUfAY 

adiate  from  the  "Dar 
web.     The  Dam  is  tlierefore  the  ct  [)re" 

sents  a  busv  as  1  hou 


1  loXvering  of  th(  iet  the  hoat^  pass  to  and 

fro.     The  rattle  of  the  and  bl 

roar  of  wheels,  and  the  noisy  whistles  on  ^;- .  r  ;r 

rom  the  steeples,  and  the  OTttiir  i 
the  boatmen.     Huge  '  B 
irriaie^es  y 

he  car 


tunies  from  t 
cording  to  a  quaint  ^ 
the  small  boys  of  the  city 
>:roundof  the  ''Bcurs  ''?)t^' 


UTRECHT 

by  the  city  in  commemoration  of  the  discovery  by  a  small 
boy  of  a  plot  by  the  Spanish  in  1622.  The  massive 
gloomy  building  on  the  west  side  is  the  palace,  but  it  is 
said  the  Queen  only  stops  here  one  week  in  the  year.  It 
is  described  by  Thackeray  as  follows : 

"You  have  never  seen  the  Palace  of  Amsterdam,  my  dear  sir? 
Why,  there's  a  marble  hall  in  that  palace  that  will  frighten  you  as 
much  as  any  hall  in  'Vathek,'  or  a  nightmare.  At  one  end  of  the 
cold,  glassy,  glittering,  ghostly,  marble  hall  there  stands  a  throne 
on  which  a  white  marble  king  ought  to  sit  with  his  white  legs 
gleaming  down  into  the  white  marble  below,  and  his  white  eyes 
looking  at  a  great  marble  Atlas,  who  bears  upon  his  icy  shoulders 
a  blue  globe  as  big  as  a  full  moon." 

And  he  continues  in  the  same  strain.  But  frankly  I  think 
the  room  of  fine  proportions,  and  altogether  impressive  in 
its  magnificent  length  of  120  feet,  60  feet  in  width,  and 
100  feet  in  height,  with  white  marble  walls. 

There  are  many  curious  back  streets  in  Amsterdam 
through  which  I  have  wandered  day  after  day,  streets 
bordering  on  quiet,  sluggish  canals,  and  lined  with  dark, 
solemn-looking  houses  of  black  and  brown  brick,  with  im- 
maculately clean  white  window  frames,  rising  sometimes 
to  a  considerable  height  and  culminating  in  curious 
stepped  gables  from  which  quaint  cranes  and  hooked  pul- 
leys project,  and  above  which  the  *'Hei- tutors"  fly.  I 
don't  know  why,  but  these  houses  suggest  spooky  se- 
crets, and  seem  inhabited  solely  by  strange  waxen-faced, 
lace-becapped  ladies  gazing  furtively  into   the   little 

121 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

"Spui"  (or  small  mirror)  which  is  invariably  fastened 
outside  to  each  window.  I  have  mental  pictures  of  inte- 
riors behind  these  many-paned  windows  containing  vast 
stores  of  exquisite  marqueterie  furniture,  rare  Delft  ware 
and  paintings  by  Hals,  massive  sideboards  crammed  with 
Dutch  Apostle  spoons;  inverted  silver  drinking  cups  sur- 
mounted by  windmills  and  antique  ships,  and  heavy  cut- 
glass  chandeliers  with  brass  balls  hanging  pendant  from 
the  ceiling. 

Many  pleasant  days  have  I  idled  along  these  silent 
"Grachts,"  seeing  only  these  dim,  furtive,  reflected 
waxen  faces  in  the  windows  and  an  occasional  black  cat 
scurrying  across  the  way.  But  there  is  great  contrast  to 
the  silent,  dark  canals  in  the  great  "Kalverstraat,"  which 
runs  south  from  the  Dam,  by  day  and  night  filled  with 
hurrying  multitudes  of  merchants,  peasants,  and  voyag- 
ers, and  noisy  with  the  clank  of  the  wooden  ''shoon." 
The  Kalverstraat  is  the  Broadway  of  Amsterdam,  but 
only  in  the  sense  of  its  being  a  busy  thoroughfare,  and 
not  from  its  width,  for  it  is  quite  narrow  and  brick  paved. 
The  tourist  will  seek  in  the  evening  the  ''Warmoes 
Straat,"  in  which  is  situated  the  *'Krasnapolsky,"  said  to 
be  the  most  gigantic  restaurant  in  Europe,  and  perhaps 
the  most  cosmopolitan.  It  was  here  I  caused  consterna- 
tion one  evening  at  dinner  on  my  first  visit  by  calling  for 
a  plate  of  ice,  for  I  was  thirsty  and  longed  for  a  cold 
drink  of  good  water.     The  waiters  came  and  looked  at 

122 


UTRECHT 

me  by  turn  and  excitedly  talked  among  themselves  and 
gesticulated,  finally  calling  the  manager,  who  asked  me 
with  great  courtesy  what  I  desired.  I  explained  that  I 
desired  a  plate  of  ice.  He  repeated,  "Ice  ^"  I  again  said 
ice.  Three  waiters  behind  him  looked  at  each  other  and 
echoed  ice.  Then  they  all  vanished.  I  waited.  Fi- 
nally I  called  the  nearest  waiter  and  giving  him  with  a 
magnificent  air  a  *'dubbeltje"  (small  coin)  said  simply, 
"A  plate  of  ice,  if  you  please."  He  too  started  visibly 
and  said,  "Ice?"  I  once  more  repeated  ice.  He  in  his 
turn  vanished.  After  waiting  for  some  time  came  the 
head-waiter  with  a  plate  of  ice,  two  small  cubes  of  the 
size  of  butter  balls,  set  it  down  before  me  with  a  hesitat- 
ing air  and  said,  "Ice,  mynheer,"  then  stood  to  one  side  to 
see  what  I  would  do  with  it.  Then  came  waiter  number 
one,  bearing  a  plate  with  one  small  piece  of  ice  of  the 
butter-ball  size,  which  he  in  turn  set  down  before  me, 
saying  "Ice,  mynheer,"  and  stood  to  one  side  with  the 
proprietor  to  see  what  I  was  going  to  do.  Then  came 
waiter  number  three  bearing  triumphantly  a  plate  with 
another  small  piece  of  ice  which  he  placed  with  the  other 
dishes,  saying,  "If  you  please,  ice,  mynheer,"  and  joined 
the  other  two.  With  a  spoon  I  placed  the  four  small 
pieces  of  ice  in  a  glass  with  some  seltzer,  and  to  their 
astonishment  I  drank  it.  They  seemed  satisfied,  how- 
ever, for  when  my  bill  was  presented  at  the  end  of  the 
dinner,  the  charge  to  my  consternation  was — well — I'm 

123 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ashamed  to  tell  how  much  I  paid  for  that  glass  of  ice 
water,  but  I  noticed  the  extreme  respect  with  which  the 
waiter  brought  me  my  hat,  my  coat,  and  my  cane  and 
bowed  me  out  into  the  night. 

Around  the  Rembrandt  Plein  are  the  principal  cafes, 
surrounding  the  statue  of  the  great  painter.  In  the  sum- 
mer evenings  this  square  is  well-nigh  impassable  with  the 
strolling  crowds  from  the  Kalverstraat  and  the  people 
seated  about  the  small  tables  and  chatting  gaily.  Fri- 
day evening  until  the  night  of  Saturday,  one  of  the 
greatest  sights  of  the  city  is  the  "Jews'  quarter."  In  this 
veritable  "Ghetto,"  Spinoza  was  born.  The  house  is 
still  shown  and  is  numbered  41  on  the  Waterloo  Plein. 
The  great  Rembrandt,  also,  dwelt  for  a  number  of  years 
at  number  4  Jordenbreestraat.  Of  course,  as  is  well 
known,  this  is  the  great  center  of  diamond  cutting  and 
polishing,  and  in  their  little  dingy  cafes  the  merchants 
may  be  seen  chaffering  over  gleaming  heaps  of  the  pre- 
cious stones.  Some  writers  have  spoken  of  the  fact  of 
their  letting  the  nail  of  the  little  finger  grow  long  so 
that  they  may  use  it  as  a  scoop,  but  I  have  not  seen  this 
myself. 

The  great  Cullinan  diamond,  which  was  presented  to 
King  Edward  by  the  Transvaal  Government  and  the 
cutting  of  which  was  finished  at  Amsterdam  in  Janu- 
ary, 1909,  was  really  larger  before  the  cutting  than 
all   the   other   great   diamonds   previously   discovered. 

124 


UTRECHT 

such  as  the  Kohinoor,  the  Nizan,  the  Regent  and  the 
Orlof .  It  was  Tom  Cullinan,  a  veteran  miner,  prospect- 
ing one  day,  who  saw  on  a  plateau  on  the  farm  of  an  old 
Boer,  the  sort  of  clay  which,  to  his  practiced  eye,  promised 
diamonds.  The  experts  had  little  faith  in  the  locality, 
nothing  ever  having  been  found  thereabouts.  The  Boer 
farmer  refused  to  permit  any  further  prospecting  and 
demanded  a  large  sum  of  money  in  cash  outright.  Tom 
finally  raised  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  and  bought  the  farm.  The  diamond  drills  which 
were  put  to  work  immediately,  struck  at  the  depth  of 
nearly  six  hundred  feet  what  is  known  as  Kimberley  Blue 
Ground,  and  the  result  was  a  dozen  fair-sized  diamonds. 
After  that  the  Premier  Mine,  as  it  was  named,  became  a 
record-breaker,  yielding  a  number  of  stones  about  three 
hundred  karats,  two  above  two  hundred  karats,  and  six- 
teen, it  is  said,  above  one  hundred  karats  in  weight. 
Tom  Cullinan  thus  became  a  wealthy  man.  He  did  not, 
however,  dream  of  the  wealth  which  was  in  store  for  him 
or  of  the  luck  which  thereafter  pursued  him  and  which 
put  into  his  hands  a  stone  worth  upwards  of  five  million 
dollars.  In  the  month  of  January,  1905,  one  of  the  man- 
agers. Wells  by  name,  was  ascending  the  scarred  side  of 
a  pit  after  the  day's  labor,  when  his  eye  caught  the  flash 
from  a  monster  glassy  stone  embodied  in  volcanic  clay  on 
the  opposite  slope.  He  took  his  bearings  and,  marking 
the  spot,  immediately  sought  the  location,  where  he 

125 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

picked  out  an  enormous  mass  of  crystal  almost  as  large  as 
his  iist  and  took  it  to  the  office.  It  was  put  upon  the 
scales  and  weighed  3,024  karats,  or  more  than  iH  pounds 
avoirdupois.  The  geologist  of  the  Transvaal  state  pro- 
nounced the  stone  a  chip  from  a  much  larger  block.  It 
was  then  named  the  Cullinan  diamond,  after  the  finder. 

The  previous  largest  find  in  the  mine  was  the  Jagers- 
fontein  of  1893,  which  weighed  970  karats  before  it  was 
cut  into  ten  stones,  worth  between  four  and  five  thousand 
dollars  apiece.  One  may  judge  of  the  size  of  the  Cul- 
linan diamond  by  the  fact  that  it  would  take  ten  of  them 
to  match  it  in  size.  It  is  said  that  this  enormous  stone 
was  sent  to  England  by  registered  mail  with  a  shilling 
stamp  upon  it  and  that  upon  its  safe  arrival  it  was  de- 
posited in  the  safe  deposit  vault  and  was  insured  for 
$2,500,000,  or  just  one-half  its  estimated  value.  It  was 
finally  decided  to  cut  the  stone  into  eight  parts,  using 
seven  for  a  royal  necklace  and  the  largest  fragment  to  be 
presented  to  the  Crown  and  to  retain  forever  the  name  of 
Cullinan. 

The  work  of  cutting  and  polishing  was  done  at  Am- 
sterdam at  a  cost  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  is  said 
that  about  two-thirds  of  the  stone  was  lost  in  the  cutting, 
the  largest  fragment  being  known  as  a  "drop  brilliant" 
weighing  516^/^  karats.  It  is  much  larger  than  any  other 
cut  diamond  in  the  world.  This  drop  brilliant  was  cut 
with  74  facets  instead  of  the  regulation  58.     The  largest 

126 


UTRECHT 

previously  known  brilliant  was  the  Jubilee  of  239  karats. 
Consul  Henry  Morgan,  of  Amsterdam,  has  furnished  in 
a  report,  the  following  information  concerning  the  pol- 
ishing of  the  great  diamond  in  that  city. 

"It  was  necessary  in  the  first  instance  to  cleave  the 
stone  in  three  pieces  in  order  to  remove  two  very  bad 
flaws.  This  cleaving  is  done  by  first  making  an  incision 
in  the  stone  with  a  diamond-cutting  saw  at  the  point 
where  it  is  to  be  split  and  following  the  grain  to  a  depth 
of  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  Before  this 
cleaving  operation  was  undertaken  crystal  models  were 
made  and  cleaved  in  order  to  ascertain  as  far  as  could  be 
known  just  what  would  happen  when  the  same  process 
was  applied  to  the  real  stone.  After  the  incision  the 
cleaver  inserted  into  the  slit  an  especially  constructed 
knife  blade  made  of  the  finest  steel  and  then  with  a  thick 
steel  rod  struck  it  a  hard  blow  and  cut  the  stone  in  two 
exactly  at  the  point  where  it  was  proposed  it  should  be 
cut."  And  it  is  said  to  be  an  exceedingly  well-executed 
piece  of  work.  .  .  . 

In  this  quarter  one  may  buy  wonderful  antique  rings 
and  diamond  sparks,  but  unless  one  is  expert  and  delights 
in  bargaining,  and  is  willing  to  be  cheated,  one  should 
avoid  the  experience.  At  the  head  of  the  "Gelder- 
schekade"  is  a  quaint  building  called  the  Weeper's  tower, 
dating  from  the  fifteenth  century.  Here  the  families  or 
wives  of  the  fishermen  waved  good-by  to  the  departing 

127 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

sailors  long  ago  and  watched  them  disappear.  At  the 
side  of  the  fish  market  is  "St.  Anthony's  weigh-house,"  a 
curious  red-brick  structure.  Not  far  from  here  is  the 
"Prins  Hendrik  Kade,"  where  De  Ruyter  lived  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  It  bears  on  its  front  his  portrait 
in  relief. 

St.  Anthony's  weigh-house,  now  used  as  a  fire  station, 
was  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  outer  limit  of  the  city. 
Some  of  the  city  guilds  met  here,  and  I  am  told  that  in 
olden  times  a  society  of  surgeons  once  had  a  dissecting 
room  on  the  upper  floor.  Rembrandt's  "School  of  An- 
atomy" originally  hung  in  this  building.  There  are  some 
magnificent  charitable  institutions  in  the  city.  Charles 
II  when  in  exile  at  Bruges  is  said  to  have  remarked  that 
"God  would  never  forsake  Holland,"  so  charitable  were 
its  inhabitants.  A  frequent  sight  in  the  streets  are  the 
children  from  the  orphanages,  who  may  be  recognized 
easily  by  their  picturesque  costume  or  uniform  of  red 
and  black.  The  skirt  and  bodice  of  the  girls  are  divided 
equally  vertically  in  two  colors,  one  side  red,  the  other 
black.  I  had  an  excellent  view  in  the  evening  at  the 
open-air  concert  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  the  life  of 
the  people,  and  at  the  "Tolhuis,"  a  large  tea  garden 
across  the  ferry,  of  the  lights  of  the  city,  and  listened  to 
the  music  of  a  fine  military  band.  "The  Rijks  Museum" 
contains  magnificent  and  world-renowned  paintings,  the 
list  of  which  is  too  extended  to  note  in  this  chapter,  but 

128 


UTRECHT 

the  traveler  will  seek  the  Gallery  of  Honor,  at  the  end 
of  which  is  the  Rembrandt  Room  with  its  huge  master- 
pieces. "The  Night  Watch"  at  once  impels  attention. 
It  is,  of  course,  not  a  night  watch  at  all,  for  the  lighting  is 
from  sunlight  in  a  courtyard,  but  the  misnomer  will  for- 
ever cling  to  the  canvas.  It  represents  Captain  Frans 
Banning  Cocq  and  his  company  of  arquebusiers  leaving 
their  headquarters  for  military  exercises. 

In  the  same  hall  hangs  the  brilliant  work  of  Van  der 
Heist,  'The  Banquet"  of  the  Amsterdam  shooters.  This 
work  brought  the  artist  a  great  reputation.  Thackeray, 
describing  the  hands  of  the  figures,  says  they  are  as  won- 
derful as  the  faces.  Here  are  pictures  by  Franz  Hals, 
Jan  Weenix,  Metsu,  Dou,  Ter  Boorch,  Jan  Steen,  Wou- 
vermans,  Hobbema,  Ruisdael,  and  a  host  of  others  no  less 
wonderful.  There  are  also  many  modern  paintings,  the 
most  popular  of  which  is  Queen  Wilhelmina's  coronation 
by  Ecrelmans.  There  are  numerous  other  picture  gal- 
leries in  the  city.  All  in  all,  the  tourist  will  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  tear  himself  away  from  Amsterdam. 

Broek  has  long  been  celebrated  by  writers  of  Holland 
as  the  cleanest  place  in  all  the  world,  but  when  I  passed 
through  it  did  not  strike  me  as  being  so  much  cleaner 
than  any  other  town  of  its  class,  though  it  did  im- 
press me  as  being  more  upon  the  toy-box  order  than  any 
other,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  inhabitants  were  pain- 
fully aware  of  their  reputation  and  were  trying  to  live 

129 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

up  to  it.  It  is  certainly  clean,  for  across  the  road  there  is 
a  wooden  bar  to  prevent  horses  or  vehicles  from  entering 
the  principal  street,  and  a  sign  pointing  out  the  way  to  a 
back  thoroughfare  by  the  canal.  I  saw  an  old  dame  who 
was  nearly  as  wide  as  she  was  tall,  busily  sweeping  up 
some  imaginary  dust  into  a  pan  in  the  middle  of  the  road- 
way. She  scowled  at  me  as  I  passed  so  that  I  looked  at 
my  boots  to  see  if  they  were  not  as  clean  as  they  might 
have  been.  It  is  all  on  a  diminutive  scale  and  looks  like 
a  play  town  arranged  for  some  fete,  and  there  are  tiny 
ponds  before  the  houses  and  three-foot  drawbridges  over 
two-foot  canals,  connecting  the  walks.  But  it  is  a  pretty 
village  with  its  tiny  gardens,  its  trim  trees,  and  its  little 
ponds,  and  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  passed  through  it. 

Monnickendam  I  spent  the  night  in.  At  dinner,  the 
proprietor,  a  tall  dismal  looking  old  man,  brought  me  a 
larger  decanter  of  remarkably  fine  port  wine,  saying  that 
I  might  drink  all  that  I  liked  of  it  free  of  charge,  as  this 
was  my  first  visit  to  the  town.  He  said  this  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  hotel.  I  seemed  to  be  the  only  guest  in  the 
hotel,  which  was  named  "Doelen"  as  usual  [there  seems 
to  be  a  Hotel  Doelen  in  every  large  town  in  Holland]. 
When  I  awoke  in  the  morning,  the  first  thing  I  saw  was 
an  immense  pulpit  painted  white  and  gilded,  at  the  other 
end  of  my  bedroom,  which  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  council 
chamber  for  some  association,  for  it  bore  the  inscription 
"Tot  Nut  Van  t'algemeen,"in  gilt  letters,  the  meaning 

130 


Monnickendam — Bell  Tower  and  Weigh  House 


'Jl 


'DAY 


i  wut.  •  liii  CUL 


ae  way  ic 


JU^Uf^'i  iL. 


'  dinner,  the 

-ne  a 

..e,  buying  that 


^ujoW  j\^i'i'\\  \utft  ^viViw^iUVmwoM 


!|  <;  'M  f  X  '\ 


«■:,.'•' 


UTRECHT 

of  which  I  never  discovered.  A  queer,  forgotten  town 
it  is,  with  a  stately  old  church  big  enough  to  hold  a  regi- 
ment. The  houses  are  red,  the  shutters  are  green,  the 
streets  are  deserted,  and  the  pavement  is  of  very  yellow 
brick.  The  proprietor  seemed  disappointed  that  I  was 
leaving  so  soon,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  fault  to  find  with 
the  hotel.  I  took  pains  to  assure  him  of  my  thanks  for 
his  endeavors.  It  was  from  here  that  I  took  a  sailboat 
for  Marken,  which  wonderful  island  is  nothing  but  a 
huge  meadow  dyked  up  against  the  sea,  with  the  most 
theatrical  population  imaginable.  It  is  said  that  the 
women  rarely  ever  leave  the  island  and  that  they  know 
nothing  of  the  outer  world,  but  I  am  inclined  to  doubt 
this,  for  they  do  understand  the  value  of  the  ''stuijver" 
(coin).  The  little  villages,  of  which  there  are  several, 
are  built  on  high  mounds  of  earth  called  "Terpen" 
brought  from  the  mainland  in  boats,  and  these  are  con- 
nected by  narrow  brick-paved  roadways  running  across 
the  fields.  In  the  spring  and  fall  when  the  winds  are 
high,  the  sea  rises  and  the  little  villages  are  separated 
completely.  The  costume  of  the  men  is  comical.  They 
wear  a  kind  of  divided  skirt  ending  at  the  knees,  with  a 
blue  shirt  and  sou'wester.  The  dress  of  the  women  I 
shall  describe  with  a  certain  diffidence  as  a  short,  full  pet- 
ticoat of  some  blue  stuff;  a  very  gay  bodice  covered  with 
bright  flowers,  in  red,  green,  and  purple,  which  seems  to 
be  laced  up  the  back;  blue  knitted  sleeves  from  wrist  to 

131 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

elbow,  then  to  the  shoulder  in  white,  and  bright  orange 
handkerchief  or  a  string  of  coral  beads  around  the  neck. 
Each  woman  wears  a  queer,  close-fitting  cap  of  black 
cloth  with  an  edging  of  white  lace,  and  her  hair  is  cut 
straight  across  in  a  bang  at  the  forehead,  and  two  long, 
curly  locks  hanging  down  each  side  of  her  face  to  her 
shoulders.  As  for  the  children,  up  to  the  age  of  ten 
they  are  dressed  exactly  alike.  It  is  only  possible  to  tell 
the  boys  from  the  girls  by  the  button  the  former  have  on 
their  caps,  and  the  red  rose  the  latter  wear  under  their 
chins.  It  has  been  said  that  Marken  is  no  place  for  the 
sensitive  traveler.  There  was  a  most  remarkable  old 
woman  on  the  island  named  Vrouw'  Marretje  Teer- 
huis,  who  kept  the  socalled  "Showhouse,"  and  sold  al- 
leged Delft  plates  for  fabulous  prices.  I  am  told  that 
she  has  since  retired  from  business  upon  what  is  consid- 
ered a  fortune  upon  Marken.  The  people  are  certainly 
mercenary  to  the  last  degree,  and  some  travelers  indeed 
have  called  them  savages.  But  I  would  not  go  quite  so 
far  as  this,  although  my  friend  Edwin  A.  Abbey,  the 
artist,  related  a  most  annoying  and  almost  incredible  ex- 
perience which  he  and  a  friend  had  there,  some  years  ago, 
which  came  near  resulting  disastrously  for  them.  The 
women  impressed  me  as  being  better-natured  than  the 
men,  and  I  was  prepared  to  take  it  all  on  trust  and  be- 
lieve in  them  thoroughly  until  I  saw  some  of  the  interiors 
of  the  homes.     The  trouble  with  Marken  is  that  it  is  a 

132 


UTRECHT 

commercial  community,  a  business  enterprise  with  a  dis- 
creetly hidden  business  manager.  The  lavishly  dis- 
played bric-a-brac,  Delft  plate,  brass  milk  cans,  the  Apos- 
tle spoons,  as  a  rule  are  all  made  for  the  occasion  and 
placed  there  by  astute  dealers,  and  the  prices  they  ask  for 
these  would  stagger  even  an  American.  And  so  let  us 
leave  them  to  the  business. 

Certainly,  if  Volendam,  which  I  shall  describe  here- 
after as  a  deep  red  village,  is  so  identified,  then  Zaandam 
must  be  styled  the  "Green  Village,"  for  nowhere  in  Hol- 
land is  there  such  a  lavish  display  of  green  paint,  and 
curiously  enough  the  effect  is  charming.  It  would  seem 
as  if  the  weather  had  a  qualifying  effect  upon  the  color, 
for  it  becomes  with  time  of  an  exquisite  turquoise  tint. 
These  houses  seen  beneath  the  rows  of  trees  which  run 
down  its  long  streets  are  in  effect  most  pleasing.  Zaan- 
dam is  divided  by  the  river  Zaan.  There  is  a  little 
hotel  called  the  ''De  Zon,"  presided  over  by  a  most  kind 
old  vrouwe,  and  here  one  may  sit  at  peace  with  the  world 
and  watch  the  ducks  swimming  in  the  canal.  Zaandam 
is  preeminently  the  windmill  town  and  invariably  is 
associated  with  Don  Quixote,  but  of  course  he  has  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it,  and  as  Whistler  would 
say,  "why  drag  him  in?'  These  mills  are  whirling  and 
gesticulating  in  all  directions.  There  are  blue  mills,  red 
mills,  white  mills,  brown  mills,  black  mills,  and  two  green 
ones,  all  of  various  sizes  and  shapes.     I  am  told  that  for 

133 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

the  most  part  they  are  pumping  water,  but  I  saw  some 
which  make  fertilizer;  others  grind  or  cut  tobacco,  and 
many  saw  wood.  The  guide  book  tells  me  that  there  are 
"four  hundred  of  these  mills  and  that  they  stretch  along 
the  canal  for  five  miles."  I  counted  eighty  from  the  sta- 
tion alone,  while  waiting  for  the  train,  to  the  amazement 
of  a  cabman  who  was  watching  me  and  who  certainly 
thought  I  was  crazy.  The  moment  I  disembarked  at 
Zaandam,  I  was  beset  with  guides  of  all  sorts :  small  boys 
danced  before  me,  old  men  pushed  and  pulled  me,  and 
one  man,  not  being  able  to  reach  me  for  the  crowd,  tapped 
me  on  the  head  with  a  long  stick  which  he  held  in  his 
hand,  and  holding  up  his  other  hand  shouted,  "Peter's 
house,  Peter's  house."  But  with  one  single  word  in 
Dutch  with  which  I  had  been  equipped  by  my  Dutch 
friend,  and  which  I  am  unwilling  to  disclose,  I  discour- 
aged them  and  sought  out  the  house  of  Peter  myself,  for 
one  cannot  miss  it,  whether  one  wishes  or  not.  It  is  now 
encased  for  preservation  in  an  outer  covering  of  zinc  and 
brick  and  outwardly  resembles  a  small  chapel.  There 
are  two  small  rooms  to  be  seen,  in  one  of  which  is  Peter's 
bed.  The  walls  of  the  hut  are  covered  with  autographs 
and  some  Russian  tablets.  Peter  the  Great  lived  here  in 
1697  when  he  worked  as  a  shipwright  in  the  yard  of  one 
Mynheer  Kalf.  The  monarch  is  said  to  have  spent  only 
eight  days  in  this  hut,  and  if  this  be  so,  he  is  certainly 
responsible  for  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  the  poor  tourists 

•    134 


^1 


"^^SS^JP.'Jfjl; 


j,-«^a,-;^jV,:,;^-Si^      '  ^  '„•■** 


Marken — On  the  Jetty 


'  Ping  water,  but  I  saw  some  , 

wh>..h  IX)  ind  or  cut  tobacco,  and 

'^  '  nt  there  are 


r:^:n. 


'ng:Ie  wor 
my  I 
I  dLv 
elf,  for 


UTRECHT 

and  no  little  money  has  fallen  into  the  pockets  thereby  of 
the  bland  Zaandamers.  Anton  Mauve,  one  of  the  great- 
est of  the  modern  Dutch  school  of  painters,  was  born  here 
in  1838.  He  died  at  Arnheim  in  1888.  Strange  to  say, 
neither  Zaandam  nor  Arnheim  has  evinced  the  slightest 
interest  in  the  fact. 

And  now  Volendam,  the  artist  village.  To  this  one 
should  go  in  the  "Trekschuyt,"  a  funny  little  ark  of  a 
boat  drawn  by  boy-power  along  the  canal,  said  boy,  and 
a  sturdy  one  too,  being  hitched  up  into  a  sort  of  harness 
with  a  wide  leather  band  across  his  breast  and  the  tow- 
line  attached  to  a  hook  at  his  back.  He  leans  over  his 
"job"  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees  and  pulls  the  boat  along 
the  canal  at  the  rate  of  about  two  and  a  half  miles  an 
hour,  while  a  lean  old  man  with  a  pole  at  his  armpit 
keeps  the  stern  of  the  boat  away  from  the  bank  of  the 
canal.  Mynheer  of  the  vast,  gloomy  hotel  at  Monnick- 
endam  helped  me  down  to  the  boat  with  my  traps  in  the 
morning  and  introduced  me  to  our  boy-motor.  The  boat, 
which  lay  in  the  canal,  was  shaped  like  a  small  Noah's 
Ark,  nearly  as  broad  as  it  was  long,  with  a  door  at  one 
end,  giving  entrance  to  the  interior.  Through  the  little 
square  windows  in  the  sides  I  saw  the  pretty  faces  of  a 
number  of  girls  in  charming  lace  caps.  The  faces  van- 
ished as  I  looked  and  I  heard  a  good  deal  of  giggling  and 
the  boat  swayed  alarmingly  from  side  to  side.  Once  on 
board,  mynheer  presented  me  formally  to  the  quaintest 

135 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

collection  of  girls  that  I  have  ever  seen.  There  were 
six  of  them  arrayed  in  the  prettiest  costumes  imaginable. 
They  quite  filled  the  little  cabin  with  a  number  of 
brightly  polished  milk-cans  and  one  huge  basket  of  frag- 
rant celery.  Soon  we  were  off,  and  in  response  to  their 
shy  questioning  I  began  to  tell  the  girls  where  I  came 
from,  and  where  I  was  going,  my  name,  my  age,  my  fam- 
ily history,  and  my  occupation,  and  soon  they  were  gaily 
chattering  upon  matters  not  more  than  half  of  which  I 
could  understand.  I  asked  one  of  them  to  sing  me  a 
song,  which  she  did  very  shyly,  at  first,  and  then  gather- 
ing courage  the  rest  joined  in  the  chorus.  It  was  some- 
thing about  chasing  pigs  out  of  the  garden,  and  a  poor, 
sore  heart,  but  I  could  not  see  the  connection,  although 
this  must  have  been  my  fault.  Then  my  neighbor  asked 
me  if  I  would  sing  a  song.  I  said  I  couldn't,  that  I  never 
had  excepting  in  the  privacy  of  my  own  quarters,  but  that 
I  would  if  they  wished  it  and  would  absolve  me  from  the 
consequences,  that  there  were  cows  in  the  fields  all  about 
us,  and  that  consideration  was  due  to  the  boy  who  was 
pulling  the  boat.  At  the  first  sound  of  my  voice,  the  boy 
returned  to  the  boat  and  peering  down  the  hatchway, 
asked  me  if  anything  was  wrong.  I  of  course  resented 
his  impudence,  thinking  that  if  the  young  ladies  did  not 
object  that  it  was  no  concern  of  his.  As  for  the  girls, 
they  seemed  perfectly  satisfied,  for  after  the  first  few 
bars,  they  laughed  uproariously ;  but  they  did  not  ask  me 

136 


UTRECHT 

to  continue,  although  I  was  perfectly  willing.  They  did, 
however,  entertain  me  charmingly  by  telling  me  much 
that  concerned  Volendam,  at  which  we  arrived  all  too 
soon.  The  village  is  below,  or  almost  so,  the  sea  level, 
excepting  some  of  the  houses  on  the  outer  dyke,  and  all  is 
most  unusual.  I  may  say  that  Volendam  is  now,  alas, 
different  from  what  it  was  when  I  first  saw  it,  nearly 
twenty  years  ago.  The  traveler  is  beginning  to  find  it 
out,  and  Mynheer  Spaander's  Inn  has  been  enlarged,  is 
now  managed  by  his  charming  and  efficient  daughters, 
and  is  thronged  in  the  summer.  The  houses  are  largely 
of  wood  clapboarded  and  with  quaint  gables,  and  the 
color,  as  I  remarked  before,  is  a  deep  red  of  a  magenta 
shade.  That  is  to  say,  the  houses  are  so  painted,  and 
that,  as  well,  is  generally  the  color  of  the  jackets  and 
trousers  of  the  men,  so  that  all  is  what  artists  call  "in 
tone."  The  great  trouble  with  Volendam  is  its  open 
drain,  from  which  there  is  great  danger,  I  should  think, 
of  typhoid.  Artists  have  found  Volendam,  and  in  both 
summer  and  winter  its  streets  and  houses  are  thronged 
with  them.  They  come,  too,  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  population  has  learned  to  like  them,  and  the  men, 
women,  and  children  can  fall  at  once  into  the  easiest  pos- 
sible poses. 

Mynheer  Spaander  and  his  kind  daughters  are  hospital- 
ity itself.  They  have  provided  a  richly  furnished  studio 
for  the  painter  which  contains  nearly  all  that  one  would 

137 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

need.  The  men  of  the  community  are  taciturn  to  the  last 
degree.  On  their  return  from  fishing,  one  may  see  them 
squatting  on  their  heels  all  along  the  dyke  in  sheltered 
spots,  smoking  furiously  and  persistently,  apparently 
without  saying  one  word  for  hours.  One  is  struck  by 
the  collections  of  wooden  shoes  arranged  outside  each 
doorway  in  assorted  sizes  until  one  learns  that  it  is  the 
rule  that  all  shoes  must  be  left  outside  before  entering. 
T-he  men  wear  very  thick  knitted  blue  woolen  socks. 
The  houses  are  very  small,  usually  a  story  and  a  half, 
and  the  fronts  are  below  the  level  of  the  street.  The 
Volendam  matron,  when  dressed  ceremoniatly,  wears, 
I  am  credibly  informed,  some  fourteen  petticoats,  which 
are  suspended  from  a  wooden  hoop  worn  about  the  waist. 
Those  who  can  afford  it  wear  as  many  more  as  they  can 
get,  the  outer  one  being  of  woolen  stuff  in  broad  blue 
and  white  stripes,  embroidered  with  silk.  The  cap  is 
unique  and  different  from  all  others,  and  has  two  long 
lace  points  projecting  from  each  side  of  the  face.  The 
community  strangely  enough  is  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith.  It  is  only  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays  that  the  lit- 
tle harbor  is  completely  filled  with  strangely  modeled 
fishing-boats  with  their  crews,  presenting  a  very  busy 
sight,  and  at  the  crowded  church  on  Sunday  the  picture 
is  unique. 

Returning  to  Edam  by  the  ''Trekschuyt,"  one  might 
linger  for  a  little  while  at  its  museum.     The  house  is  a 

138 


UTRECHT 

sufficiently  remarkable  one.  It  has  been  styled  "a  curio 
of  curios."  Mynheer  informed  me  that  it  was  built  by 
a  sea  captain,  a  wonderful  man,  away  back  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  who  so  loved  his  vocation  that  he  fitted 
up  its  interior  as  far  as  possible  in  the  likeness  of  a  ship. 
The  custodian  hands  one  a  candle  and  invites  one  to 
descend  into  the  "hold."  Formerly,  I  am  told,  this  por- 
tion of  the  household  floated  in  the  canal  water,  but  it  is 
now  fastened  to  the  rest  of  the  structure.  There  is  a 
steep  ship's  ladder,  leading  to  a  small  cabin  on  the  upper 
deck,  which  contains  a  curious  table  so  mechanically 
arranged  that  upon  displacing  the  top  some  secret  draw- 
ers are  disclosed.  There  are  various  cunningly  arranged 
closets,  all  contrived  by  this  singular  character.  It  is 
filled  with  old  books  and  curios,  and  on  the  wall  is  a  large 
painting,  representing  the  battle  of  Chatham.  I  am  told 
that  the  Dutch  vessels  of  war  therein  engaged  were  built 
here.  Of  course,  the  town  gives  its  name  to  the  brand 
of  cheese,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  little,  if  any,  of  this 
commodity  is  now  manufactured  here. 


139 


^I^F  course  the  great  attraction  of  Alkmaar  is  its 
fl&rl  cheese  market,  at  which  it  is  said  5,000,000  kilos 

^^•^  of  the  commodity  are  sold  yearly.  Every  Fri- 
day morning  curiously  shaped  vehicles  quite  filled  with 
yellow  shiny  cheeses  are  driven  into  town  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  round  about.  Contrary  to  our  notion, 
these  cheeses  are  not  red,  unless  for  export.  The  wagons 
are  of  light,  varnished  wood,  high  up  above  the  wheels 
and  painted  bright  blue  inside.  They  are  all  headed  for 
the  market-place  and  the  Weigh  House.  The  carillon 
is  busily  ringing  out  in  its  sweet  tones.  The  Wedding 
March  from  Lohengrin.  Played  on  these  bells  it  is  a 
delight  to  the  ear,  and  from  the  tower  at  intervals  two 
little  mechanical  wooden  horsemen  charge  each  other  to 
the  notes  of  the  mechanical  trumpeter.  The  sight  in  the 
market-place  is  most  curious  and  unique,  perhaps  the 
most  curious  in  all  the  Netherlands.  There  are  huge 
golden  heaps  or  mounds  of  cheeses  which  glow  and  glitter 
in  the  sunlight.  Long  lines  of  boats  come  in  and  dis- 
charge their  cargoes  in  turn  before  the  painted  and  gilded 
Weigh  House,  and  the  square  is  filled  with  buyers  and 
sellers,  shouting  and  getting  in  each  other's  way  to  such 

140 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

an  extent  that  one  wonders  how  they  do  any  business. 
To  the  onlooker  they  seem  to  be  shaking  hands  con- 
stantly, as  if  congratulating  each  other  upon  the  amount 
of  cheese  in  the  market-place.  The  peasants  are  tossing 
the  cheeses  down  to  the  porters,  who  are  dressed  in  a  kind 
of  white  canvas  and  wear  large,  flat-brimmed  hats  of 
red  or  blue  or  yellow,  as  the  case  may  be.  They  carry 
on  small  hand-barrows  two  or  three  hundred-weight  of 
the  yellow  balls.  They  glide  over  the  ground  in  a  curi- 
ous scuffling,  shambling  manner.  There  are  scales  scat- 
tered about,  corresponding  in  color  to  the  hats  of  the  por- 
ters. The  whole  scene,  in  fact,  is  a  wild,  kaleidoscopic 
revel  of  glaring  yet  harmonious  colors.  The  bargaining 
presents  a  most  peculiar  ceremony.  By  dint  of  listening 
carefully,  one  hears  a  price  named  which  is  at  once  re- 
jected by  the  other,  who  seems  to  name  his  price  only  to 
have  it  in  turn  rejected,  and  after  an  interminable  num- 
ber of  these  rejections,  the  purchase  is  completed  by  both 
hands  meeting  with  a  quick  sort  of  a  slap,  and  so  the  bar- 
gaining goes  on  until  noon,  when  a  truce  is  declared. 
All  adjourn  to  the  little  eating-places  for  dinner,  which  is 
a  most  serious  and  formidable  ceremony  with  them. 
Apart  from  this,  Alkmaar  is  not  of  great  interest. 
There  is  here  a  typical  almshouse,  called  in  Dutch  "De 
Oude  mannen  Enn-Oude  vrouwen  huis,"  with  pretty, 
white  walls  and  a  picturesque  tower.  There  is  a  picture 
of  the  siege  of  Alkmaar  in  the  Museum,  for  this  was  the 

141 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

point  of  attack  by  the  Duke  of  Alva  after  the  conquest 
of  Haarlem,  when  the  citizens  of  Alkmaar  defied  him. 
Motley's  vivid  narrative  describes  how  "The  Spaniards 
advanced,  burned  the  village  of  Egmont  to  the  ground 
as  soon  as  the  patriots  had  left  it,  and  on  the  21st  of 
August  Don  Frederick,  appearing  before  the  walls,  pro- 
ceeded formally  to  invest  Alkmaar."  In  a  few  days  this 
had  been  so  thoroughly  accomplished  that,  in  Alva's  lan- 
guage, "it  was  impossible  for  a  sparrow  to  enter  or  go  out 
of  the  city."  The  odds  were  somewhat  unequal.  Six- 
teen thousand  troops  constituted  the  besieging  force. 
Within  the  city  were  a  garrison  of  800  soldiers,  together 
with  1,300  burghers  capable  of  bearing  arms.  The  rest 
of  the  population  consisted  of  very  few  refugees,  besides 
the  women  and  children.  Two  thousand  one  hundred 
able-bodied  men,  of  whom  about  one-third  were  soldiers, 
to  resist  16,000  regulars!  "On  that  bank  and  shoal," 
says  Motley,  "the  extreme  edge  of  habitable  earth,  the 
spirit  of  Holland's  freedom  stood  at  bay."  But  after  a 
heroic  defense  of  seven  weeks,  the  brave  inhabitants  tri- 
umphed; the  siege  was  raised. 

Here,  in  August,  one  of  the  famous  trotting  matches 
.(Harddraverij)  which  attracts  thousands  from  the  coun- 
try around  is  held  in  the  park,  and  here  one  will  have  an 
unequaled  opportunity  for  the  study  of  North  Holland 
manners  and  customs.  The  Kermis  is  now  forbidden  by 
law  in  most  of  the  towns.     But  generally  after  harvest 

142 


Alkmaar — The  Weigh  House 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

point  oi  attack  by  the  Duke  of  Alva  after  jthe  conquest 
of  Haarlem,  when  thf  >f  Alkmaar  defied  him. 

"The  Spaniards 
^o  the  ground 

t  of 


odds  were  somewhat  unc^ 

rroops  constituted  the  besieging  t< 

ity  were  a  garrison  of  8oo  soldiers,  together 

with  J  pable  of  bearing  arms.     The  rest 

t  the  poi  1  of  very^cw  refugees,  besides 

the  women  and  children.     Two  thousand  one  hundred 

able-bodied  men,  of  whom  about  on<  '  were  soldiers, 

to  resist  i6,000  regulars!     **On  that  bank  and  shoal," 

of  habita  'th,  the 

But  after  a 


try  ar^ 

un  i  opp<' 

manners  anu  Jvermis  is  now  torbidden  by 

law  in  02  But  generally  after  harvest 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

time  it  was  celebrated,  and  the  otherwise  sleepy  little 
town  would  rub  its  eyes,  put  on  its  best  cap,  and  give 
itself  over  to  a  heavy  sort  of  gaiety.  Let  me  describe  one 
as  I  saw  it.  The  market-place,  usually  so  deserted  and 
grass-grown,  was  then  dotted  with  gorgeous  booths, 
merry-go-rounds,  and  caravans,  brilliant  in  tinsel  and 
vermilion,  the  smoke  from  the  lamps  of  which,  for  it  is 
by  night  that  the  Kermis  thrives,  mounts  high  in  the  air 
to  the  tower.  The  groans  and  snarls  of  bagpipes,  the 
noisy  rumble  and  discordant  notes  of  large  organs,  the 
clash  of  cymbals,  awaken  the  echoes  of  the  market-place 
to  which  the  peasants  are  flocking  from  miles  about  in 
high-waisted  wagons,  hay-cushioned,  and  drawn  by  huge, 
hollow-backed  Flemish  horses,  bell-rigged  and  brass-har- 
nessed ;  in  low  two- wheeled  carts,  drawn  by  savage-look- 
ing yellow  dogs,  of  nondescript  breed,  and  in  high-pol- 
ished and  varnished  "Tilburys,"  whose  white  canvas 
hoods  gleam  in  the  soft  light  of  evening.  Still  others  are 
drawn  by  hardy-looking  shaggy  ponies.  Some  wagons 
are  entirely  filled  with  rosy-cheeked,  chattering  girls  from 
the  farm  clad  in  brilliant  costumes  and  lace  caps;  some 
wagons  are  laden  with  sweet-smelling  clover,  upon  which 
is  perched  Mynheer  and  his  comfortable-looking,  shrewd- 
faced  Vrouwe,  who  is  generally  the  superintendent  of  the 
farm,  and  to  whom  a  silver  gulden  represents  a  good  day's 
profit  from  cheese  and  butter;  others  are  laden  with  thick- 
featured,  phlegmatic  young  men  from  the  fields,  who 

143 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

wear  high-waisted  jackets  and  wide  leather  belts  clasped 
with  huge  embossed  silver  circular  buckles,  each  one 
smoking  furiously.  The  roads  leading  into  town  are 
thronged  also  with  long  lines  of  the  poorer  peasants,  men, 
women,  and  girls,  who  own  no  conveyance  of  any  sort, 
the  laborers  upon  the  roads  and  in  the  potato  and  beet 
fields,  tanned  a  dark  brown  by  the  sun,  with  hands  thick 
and  calloused  by  hard  work.  All  these  are  bound  for  the 
town  and  the  fleeting  joys  of  the  Kermis.  From  afar 
the  glare  in  the  market-place  can  be  seen  and  the  massive 
Cathedral  spire,  aglow  with  lights.  The  noise  of  the 
peasants'  wooden  shoes  upon  the  uneven  stones  is  like 
the  clattering  of  a  giant  mill-wheel,  and  they  present  a 
solid  appearance  like  an  army  in  motion.  The  air  is 
filled  with  shouts  and  laughter,  and  now  and  then  a  com- 
pany of  girls  who  are  arm  in  arm  will  break  into  song,  and 
not  unmusically. 

Although  it  is  nine  o'clock  it  is  not  yet  dark;  twilight 
lingers  long  in  the  low  country;  but  high  in  the  heavens  a 
few  stars  show  here  and  there  and  are  reflected  in  the 
sluggish  water  of  the  canal,  over  the  little  bridge  of  which 
the  peasants  are  now  clattering  noisily.  Many  children, 
too,  are  among  the  throng,  queer-looking  old-faced  chil- 
dren in  short-waisted,  brass-buttoned  coats  and  skirts 
that  spring  voluminously  from  beneath  their  arm-pits  and 
quite  reach  the  ground;  children  to  whom  the  sight  of  a 
real  doll  is  a  novelty,  and  who,  later  on,  are  to  sit  at  the 

144 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

long  tables  and  drink  huge  mugs  of  foaming  beer  and  con- 
sume piles  of  greasy  waffles,  the  smell  of  which  is  nauseat- 
ing at  times;  or  who  will  stand  open-mouthed  and  eager 
in  long,  struggling  lines  before  the  toy  stands,  their  fin- 
gers itching  to  handle  and  caress  the  beautiful  objects  dis- 
played, and  who  will  eagerly  hand  up  their  scant  coin  to 
the  jaded-looking  woman  who  presides  over  the  wheel  of 
fortune,  the  prize  of  which  is  a  sheet  of  paper  containing, 
as  it  may  be,  ten,  twenty,  or  fifty  little  dabs  of  suspicious- 
looking  white  sugar,  which  they  lick  off  with  delight. 
Whatever  figure  the  brass  arrow  points  out,  that  number 
of  dabs  is  handed  over  to  the  winner. 

In  the  square,  one  side  of  which  is  filled  with  tents  and 
merry-go-rounds,  the  peasants  struggle  and  push  in  a 
solid,  evil-smelling  mass,  watching  at  one  side  the  tum- 
bling wooden  horses  and  lions  upon  which  are  straddled 
the  peasants,  screaming  with  delight  to  the  blatant  blare 
of  heavy  orchestrions,  and  upon  the  other  side,  the  antics 
of  a  clown  upon  a  barrel,  his  face  whitened  with  chalk 
and  a  red  spot  upon  either  cheek,  who  rings  a  harsh-toned 
bell  and  roars  out  a  coarse  joke  directed  at  the  peasants, 
to  which  they  respond  with  force.  At  intervals  a  couple 
of  frowsy-looking  women  in  soiled  pink  tights  walk  af- 
fectedly across  the  platform  before  the  show-tent,  fol- 
lowed by  a  hideous  dwarf  who  mouths  and  leers  amid  ap- 
preciative roars.  Ordinarily  the  peasant  is  silent,  but 
upon  these  occasions  makes  up  for  his  erstwhile  taci- 

145 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

turnity.  Before  another  booth  a  hoarse-voiced  showman 
roars  out  the  attractions  of  the  fat  woman  of  incredible 
weight,  becoming  purple  in  the  face  in  his  simulated  en- 
thusiasm, and  frantically  endeavors  to  coax  the  hard- 
earned  "dubbeltje"  from  the  phlegmatic,  open-mouthed 
Mynheers.  There  is  weight-lifting  by  champions  and 
strong-lunged  men,  each  surrounded  by  admiring  crowds. 
At  intervals  small  portions  of  colored  fire  are  burned, 
now  green,  now  red,  lighting  up  the  quaint  gables  of  the 
houses  and  throwing  complementary  shadows  of  the 
poles,  flags  and  people,  magnified  out  of  all  proportion. 
In  the  cafes,  dancing  is  being  indulged  in  which  becomes 
fast  and  furious  as  the  night  grows.  The  sanded  floors 
are  crowded  with  couples  turning  and  twisting  to  the 
raucous  tones  of  large  orchestrions  turned  by  jaded, 
heavy-looking  men.  Beer  flows  by  the  barrel,  and  later 
on  a  particularly  evil  sort  of  brandy  made  from  potatoes, 
which  produces  sometimes  upon  the  peasants  a  murder- 
ous frenzy.  The  police  are  everywhere,  in  and  out  of 
uniform,  their  watchful  eyes  taking  in  every  movement 
of  the  crowd.  The  air  is  heavy  with  the  fumes  of  to- 
bacco and  the  smoke  of  oil  lamps.  Overhead,  the  vast 
square  fabric  of  the  tower  rises  majestically,  its  summit 
lost  in  the  dark  blue  of  the  heavens,  and  even  above  the 
noise  of  the  moving  peasants,  the  hum  of  voices,  the 
coaxing  shouts  of  the  showmen,  the  beating  of  drums,  the 
blare  of  trumpets  and  the  countless  indescribable  noises 

146 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

of  a  large  crowd,  there  comes  to  one  faintly  from  above 
the  faint,  mellow  jangle  of  the  chimes,  followed  by  the 
hollow  boom  of  the  big  bell,  striking  twelve.  The  Ker- 
mis is  well  on.  But  there  is  another  side  to  the  Kermis, 
which  is  shown  by  the  police  records,  and  this  I  am  com- 
pelled to  say  is  the  opposite  to  the  picture  which  I  have 
drawn.  This  is  fraught  with  drunkenness  and  crime — 
even  murder,  and  so  the  Kermis  is  now  forbidden  in  the 
large  cities,  and  only  tolerated  in  the  more  remote  com- 
munities, and  even  in  these  the  church  unites  with  the 
authorities  in  a  careful  watch  over  the  peasantry,  and  the 
lines  are  more  tightly  drawn  than  formerly,  when  the 
predatory  bands  of  foreigners,  who  accompanied  the  itin- 
erant shows  from  town  to  town,  were  permitted  to  plun- 
der the  people  at  will.  So  in  a  few  years  at  most  the 
Kermis  will  be  a  custom  of  the  past,  known  only  in  his- 
tory. 

Hoorn  [pronounced  Horn]  is  a  most  attractive  little 
town  rarely  visited  by  the  tourist,  yet  its  spires  and 
tower  appearing  from  the  heavy  masses  of  the  trees  pre- 
sent a  most  beautiful  picture.  To  see  it  in  shadow 
against  the  warm,  yellow  sky  at  eventide  and  a  big  whit- 
ish dab  of  full  moon  rising  behind  a  gable  and  a  few 
velvety  sailed  fishing  boats  gliding  by  noiselessly  while 
the  peasants  throng  the  coping  at  the  harbor  front,  their 
red  and  blue  waists  reflected  in  the  water,  will  give  one 
great  delight.     It  is  said  that  Hoorn  was  named  from  the 

147 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

shape  of  the  protecting  mole  at  the  harbor  mouth  and  that 
the  city  was  once  very  rich  and  great  in  the  days  of 
Tromp,  whose  ships  were  from  this  port.  Our  own  Cape 
Horn  is  its  namesake,  for  it  was  Wilem  Schouten,  its  dis- 
coverer, who  was  a  sailor  from  here.  Van  Diemen's 
Land  was  discovered  by  Abel  Tasman,  and  the  country 
is  now  called  for  him  Tasmania,  and  it  was  Pieter  Coen, 
whose  statue  may  be  seen  here,  who  is  said  to  have 
founded  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  There  is  only  one  busi- 
ness day  at  Hoorn  during  the  week  and  Thursday  is  the 
day.  The  scene  is  a  reproduction  in  miniature  of  the 
cheese  market  at  Alkmaar.  The  streets  are  irregularly 
built  and  crowded  with  quaint  architecture  of  three  cen- 
turies ago.  The  tourist  is  an  object  of  curiosity,  but  he 
will  meet  with  great  civility  and  often  kindness.  Here 
Admiral  De  Bossu  surrendered,  and  with  three  hundred 
prisoners  was  carried  into  Holland.  He  remained  in 
prison  three  years.  His  silver  goblet  is  preserved  at 
Hoorn,  his  sword  at  Enkhuizen.  At  the  corner  of  the 
"Grooteoost"  one  will  be  shown  the  houses  from  which 
the  wives  and  families  watched  the  progress  of  the  great 
battle  of  Hoorn,  and  there  is  a  bas-relief  representation 
of  the  fight  on  the  gable.  Everything  about  Hoorn  is 
particularly  quaint,  clean,  and  charming;  the  houses 
bend  forward  over  the  street  and  are  trimmed  with  black 
paint,  and  the  whole  effect  against  the  thick  trees  is  inde- 
scribably mellow  and  rich  in  color.     There  is  a  fine  mu- 

148 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

seum  and  pictures  of  soldiers  and  burgomasters  and  a 
splendid  portrait  of  De  Ruyter  by  Bol,  all  shown  smil- 
ingly by  a  nice  fresh  faced  girl  in  a  fascinating  costume 
who  told  me  that  she  could  understand  English  but  could 
not  speak  it.  From  here  we  go  to  Enkhuizen,  which,  by 
the  way,  need  not  detain  us  long  on  this  occasion,  for  we 
take  here  a  small  steamer  to  the  island  of  Urk. 

The  visitor  to  Urk  will  find  it  like  a  voyage  to  another 
country.  It  is  a  raised  plateau  above  the  surface  of  the 
shallow  waters  of  the  Zuyderzee,  and  the  people  are 
called  Free  Frisians.  It  seems  to  cower  by  itself  behind 
its  dykes,  but  for  which,  one  is  assured,  it  would  certainly 
be  swept  away.  On  a  rainy  day  it  is  the  dreariest  place 
that  I  have  ever  seen,  and  imprisoned  in  the  small  sitting- 
room  of  the  inn,  if  it  may  be  called  such,  one  could  only 
smoke,  hug  the  fire  of  peat  which  burned  most  fragrantly 
upon  the  hearth,  listen  to  the  bubbling  of  the  steaming 
kettle,  and  try  to  teach  the  starling  in  a  wicker  cage  in  the 
window  a  new  whistling  note  or  two,  while  the  line  of 
stolid  Mynheers,  drawn  up  on  a  bench  opposite,  smoking 
furiously,  drank  in  every  detail  of  one's  personal  appear- 
ance. Outside  the  rain  splashed  dismally  and  an  occa- 
sional peasant  slopped  by,  his  klompen  sounding  noisily. 
So  passed  my  first  evening  at  Urk.  The  next  day  was 
much  more  amusing  in  the  bright  sunlight,  although  I 
spent  a  restless  night  in  the  bed  built  in  the  wall,  to  get 
into  which  I  had  to  mount  three  steps  and  thence  fall  into 

149 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

a  well  nigh  bottomless  feathery  abyss,  which  closed  in 
upon  me,  and  which  I  had  to  rearrange  before  I  could  rest. 
Added  to  this  was  a  pattering  noise  made,  I  afterward 
discovered,  by  huge  fleas,  who  were  performing  acro- 
batics on  a  newspaper  which  I  had  left  on  the  table.  The 
proprietor  in  the  morning  gave  me  some  powder  to  sprin- 
kle about  the  bed  and  the  floor  which  he  said  quieted  "the 
little  birds,"  as  he  called  them,  and  rendered  them  stupe- 
fled  for  the  night !  This  operation  has  to  be  gone  through 
with  regularly  in  some  parts  of  the  Netherlands.  But 
the  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear  over  Urk,  and  after 
a  frugal  breakfast  of  cold  hard  boiled  eggs,  several  kinds 
of  cheese  and  some  hot  tea,  I  sallied  forth. 

The  streets  of  Urk  are  quite  deserted  save  for  a  few 
women  and  children,  the  men  on  week  days  being  away 
with  the  fishing  fleet.  Those  to  be  seen  are  mainly  old 
ones  who  have  practically  retired  from  work,  and  these,  as 
I  passed  through  the  streets,  invariably  sallied  forth,  pipe 
in  mouth,  their  hands  in  their  wide  corduroy  breeches 
pockets,  and,  falling  into  line,  stopping  when  I  stopped, 
moving  when  I  moved,  followed  me  wherever  I  went, 
standing  motionless  when  I  paused  to  make  a  sketch,  their 
heads  moving  in  unison,  and  their  eyes  looking  in  vain 
search  for  what  I  sought  in  the  prospect.  The  humor  of 
the  situation  dawning  upon  me,  I  led  them  up  one  street 
and  down  another,  walking  now  fast  and  now  slow,  and 
suddenly  doubling  upon  my  track  to  their  confusion,  but 

150 


HMIiiililiiMeiillHHHI 


The  Friesland  Hat 


-ri-^^AY 


hich  closed  in 

:-e  I  could  rest. 

vard 


d  boiled  egg:  d  kinds 

'lied  forth. 

d  save  for  a  few 

days  being  away 

ni  are  mainly  old 

k,  and  these,  as 

pipe 


\-n\\    \,\v\,.'',\v    \     A\  V 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

it  did  not  worry  them  in  the  least.  Invariably  they  re- 
turned to  the  attack,  escorting  me  finally  in  triumph  back 
to  the  inn,  where  they  reseated  themselves  upon  the  long 
bench.  This  sort  of  amusement  soon  palled  upon  me,  so 
I  ordered  beer  for  all  of  them,  to  their  amazement  and  de- 
light, and  paid  for  it  promptly;  they  then  one  and  all  be- 
came my  friends.  It  was  here  that  I  made  great  and  un- 
looked  for  fame  for  myself  as  a  medical  practitioner.  I 
had  a  little  pocket  case  of  homeopathic  remedies  for  sim- 
ple ailments,  and  I  ventured  to  prescribe  for  a  slight 
childish  ailment  from  which  the  little  daughter  of  a 
neighbor  was  suffering,  and  which  produced  the  desired 
result,  the  child  recovering  during  the  night  and  being  at 
play  in  the  morning  when  I  came  down  to  breakfast,  to 
the  manifest  relief  and  delight  of  the  mother,  whose  grat- 
itude and  enthusiasm  could  not  be  restrained,  she  volubly 
insisting  that  I  had  saved  her  child's  life.  Thus  my  fame 
spread  over  Urk,  and  when  I  returned  from  my  work  to 
dinner  I  found  an  array  of  patients  awaiting  me,  to  my 
discomfiture.  So  I  fled  from  Urk  by  the  afternoon  boat 
with  the  grateful  mothers  waving  me  good-by  from  the 
dyke,  and  with  numerous  presents  of  cake  and  sausage 
which  they  pressed  upon  me.  The  sausage  was  long  and 
thin,  hard  and  bulbous  in  places  and  inclined  to  curl  sug- 
gestively, so  that  I  surreptitiously  threw  it  overboard  as 
Urk  was  fading  in  the  distance. 

The  captain  of  that  little  boat  is  a  genius  in  extracting 

151 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

guldens  from  the  chance  traveler.  From  a  distance  of 
considerably  over  3,000  miles  I  salute  him  I  On  the 
upper  deck  of  the  boat  near  the  wheel  and  in  advance  of 
the  smokestack  was  a  small  bench.  The  space  for  first- 
class  passengers  was  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  the  peasants 
being  supposed  to  go  forward  in  the  bow.  I  saw  the  deck- 
hand carry  down  some  briquettes,  square  blocks  of  coal- 
dust  mixed  with  tar,  which  he  deposited  at  the  door  of  the 
engine-room.  I  had  seated  myself  comfortably  in  the 
stern  for  the  last  glimpse  of  Urk,  when  there  came  vast 
volumes  of  black  smoke  from  the  stack  and  I  was  envel- 
oped in  a  cloud  of  black  smudges.  The  deck-hand  in- 
vited me  to  mount  the  steps  to  the  captain's  bridge  and  I 
did  so,  taking  a  seat  on  the  aforesaid  bench  before  the 
smokestack,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  captain  turned  and 
said,  "Tickets,  please,"  and  extorted  from  me  an  extra 
gulden  for  the  "privilege"  of  sitting  before  the  smoke- 
stack. It  is  not  the  amount  but  rather  the  skill  of  the 
extortion  which  interests  one. 

It  is  said  that  Stavoren  was  formerly  so  wealthy  as  a 
city  and  its  inhabitants  so  opulent  that  the  handles  on 
their  doors  and  the  hinges  of  their  windows  were  of 
beaten  gold  and  very  large  in  size.  It  was  formerly  the 
residence  of  the  Frisian  monarchs  and  was  named  for  the 
god  Stavo.  It  is  now  silent  and  practically  deserted,  and 
I  presume  I  must  relate  the  story  of  Guicciardini,  who  in- 
forms us  quaintly  that  there  was  a  certain  rich  widow  who 

152 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

dwelt  at  Stavoren  and  who  finally  became  so  wealthy  that 
she  really  knew  not  the  sum  total  of  her  vast  possessions. 
"This,"  says  the  writer,  "produced  in  her  manners  at  once 
arrogant  and  petulant,  and  she  treated  all  who  came  near 
her  with  great  insolence."  Loading  a  vessel  for  Dantzic 
with  all  the  commodities  which  the  shopkeepers  of  Hol- 
land could  find,  she  put  it  under  the  charge  of  her  most 
skillful  captain  and  commanded  him  to  bring  back  to  her 
the  most  exquisite,  the  rarest,  the  most  useful  and  the 
most  valuable  article  to  be  procured  in  the  world.  Not 
daring  to  question  her  further,  the  captain  set  sail  and 
sold  his  cargo  in  foreign  lands,  searching  in  vain  for  the 
article  which  the  widow  desired  but  which  she  would  not 
nominate.  At  length,  after  deep  cogitation  and  many 
sleepless  hours,  the  captain  concluded  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  world  more  valuable  than  wheat,  so  he 
loaded  his  ship  with  this  and  return  to  Stavoren.  When 
he  appeared  before  the  widow  and  delivered  to  her  a  sam- 
ple of  his  cargo,  she  ordered  the  captain  to  throw  the  grain 
overboard  into  the  harbor,  and  in  her  rage  and  disap- 
pointment she  ordered  him  from  her  presence  and 
stripped  him  of  his  authority.  The  captain  did  as  he  was 
bid,  and  the  grain  taking  root,  a  sand  bank  was  formed 
at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  which  quite  choked  it  up, 
preventing  ships  of  any  tonnage  from  entering,  and  the 
grass-grown  sand  bank  which  appears  in  front  of  the  har- 
bor is  now  known  as  the  "Vrouwenzand." 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

My  Dutch  friend  tells  me  that  Hindeloopen  means 
"stag  hunt"  and  tells,  too,  that  this  is  the  headquarters 
for  all  the  bric-a-brac  dealers  in  the  world;  that  it  is  here 
that  all  the  spurious  cradles,  chairs,  cupboards,  gaily 
painted  "antique"  sleds  and  nearly  all  the  modern  Dutch 
silver  are  made  in  the  charming  little  back  streets.  This 
may  be  so;  I  do  not  profess  to  know  nor  do  I  care.  I 
can  only  say  I  was  filled  with  delight  during  my  stay  here, 
and  that  I  left  it  with  deep  regret,  and  I  have  vivid  recol- 
lections of  beautiful  interiors,  all  lined  with  blue  and 
white  tiles,  and  filled  with  exquisite  painted  woodwork 
and  cabinets  of  wonderful  carving,  groaning  with  curios 
and  massive  beaten-silver  vessels.  I  never  have  seen  so 
many  Delft  plates,  or  so  much  beautiful  shining  brass  and 
copper  anywhere  else;  the  whole  town  is  one  vast  mu- 
seum. There  is  a  queer  showroom  with  wax  figures,  of 
typical  peasants  of  Hindeloopen,  and  here  one  may  see 
the  Friesland  women,  who  are  said  to  be  the  handsomest 
in  the  country.  They  wear  a  skull  cap  of  solid,  beaten 
gold.  It  fits  over  the  whole  head  closely,  and  forms  an 
heirloom,  descending  from  mother  to  daughter  for  genera- 
tions. It  is  covered  with  lace,  through  which  it  gleams 
most  attractively.  This  head-dress  had  its  origin,  so  it  is 
said,  when  the  favorite  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  rulers 
of  the  free  Frisians,  suffering  from  an  incurable  skin  dis- 
ease, had  the  misfortune  to  lose  her  hair.  Her  father  of- 
fered a  large  reward  to  any  one  who  could  suggest  an  or- 

154 


A  Friesland  Farm  House 


f)aintcd  'ant' 

siWerare ' 


5a Id,  >- 


imdtloof 

idquar 


utif  ul  shining  brass  and 

e  town  is  one  vast  mu- 

)m  with  wax  figures,  of 

•  one  may  see 


^iiJjoH  mt^*^  Wi<tt\i^vA  V. 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

namental  head  covering  which  would  enable  her  to  ap- 
pear to  advantage  before  the  court,  and  the  cap  which  she 
wore  and  which  was  designed  by  a  gold  worker  of  the 
town  found  so  much  favor  in  all  eyes  that  it  was  adopted 
by  the  court  ladies  and  then  became  part  of  the  provincial 
costume.  It  is  called  in  the  language  "Kapsel."  Cer- 
tainly no  headdress  could  be  more  curious  and  ornate. 

I  am  told  that  the  Dutch  Boer  or  farmer  has  not 
changed  in  character  within  the  last  hundred  years,  and 
that  he  is  not  at  all  discontented  with  his  lot.  We  have 
seen  him  at  the  "Kermis"  and  in  the  seaport  towns,  and 
perhaps  we  have  in  our  minds  a  very  good  picture  of  him. 
We  have  seen  him  also  in  the  cheese  market,  and  we  know 
that  his  cheese  making  and  the  care  of  his  farm  is  the  ob- 
ject of  his  life,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  old  Boer  with 
his  shaven,  mahogany-colored  face  and  his  bright,  keen 
gray  eyes  is  certainly  much  more  attractive  than  the 
younger  ones.  I  have  in  mind  one  fine  old  fellow  I  fell 
in  with,  and  with  whom  I  became  quite  friendly,  who  was 
arrayed  in  a  most  picturesque  costume.  Calling  one 
morning  in  a  high-backed  "tilbury"  on  his  way  from 
market,  over  a  glass  of  foaming  beer  he  invited  me  to 
inspect  his  "Spul"  (that  is  to  say,  his  farm  plant) .  As 
we  drove  up  to  the  house,  which  was  in  the  "Polders"  in 
the  midst  of  a  flat  country  and  backed  by  a  beautiful 
clump  of  trees,  he  showed  me  his  idols,  which  were  two 
score  of  clean  black  and  white  cows,  with  large,  full  ud- 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ders,  a  stable  full  of  fine  young  horses,  a  "stive"  full  of 
the  cleanest  white  pigs  I  have  ever  seen,  a  chicken  and 
duck  yard  in  immaculate  order,  a  gorgeous  pagoda,  or 
summer  house,  painted  green  with  a  minaret  surmounted 
by  a  gilded  weather  vane;  a  beautiful  Sunday  carriage 
for  church-going,  in  the  form  of  a  chaise,  with  golden 
wheels  picked  out  with  red  and  blue  flowers,  the  property 
of  his  wife  and  daughters,  and  a  dog  house  of  large  pro- 
portions mounted  on  a  pivot,  in  the  midst  of  a  paved  cir- 
cle of  brick,  which  he  explained  to  me  he  had  arranged  so 
that  the  dog  that  was  chained  to  the  house  could,  when 
it  so  pleased  him,  drag  it  around  on  its  pivot  to  face  the 
sun  in  whatever  direction  it  might  be  shining.  The  gar- 
dens were  in  "apple-pie"  order.  His  pear  trees  were 
groaning  with  fruit,  his  straw  ricks  were  numerous,  and 
his  sheep  were  scattered  over  the  landscape  as  far  as  one 
could  see.  He  was  a  typical  specimen  of  the  Boer,  a  man 
of  some  education  and  of  great  native  shrewdness,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  council,  or  what  we  would  call  an  alder- 
man, and  was  worth,  probably,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
half  a  million  gulden.  But  he  was  a  Boer,  as  his  father 
had  been  before  him,  and  of  this  he  was  very  proud,  and 
a  conservative,  rooted  adherence  to  the  ways  of  his  fore- 
fathers is  the  dominant  keynote  of  his  character. 

I  was  here  most  hospitably  entertained,  and  the  pre- 
vailing bad  times  have  certainly  not  yet  penetrated  this 
quaint  land.     I  noted  in  the  principal  sitting-room  that 

156 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

the  walls  seemed  composed  of  closed  paneled  doors,  and 
remarked  upon  this,  when  the  Boer  opened  one  of  these 
panels  and  showed  me  that  the  recess  behind  it  contained 
a  bed,  and  that  all  these  doors  I  saw  were  simply  the  en- 
trances to  the  beds.  They  therefore  all  sleep  in  the  one 
room,  the  Boer,  his  wife,  son,  and  the  three  daughters. 
How  they  manage  the  disrobing  one  can  only  conjecture. 
When  they  get  into  bed  they  simply  pull  the  doors  to,  and 
there  without  any  ventilation  whatever,  save  that  which 
enters  through  the  small  pierced  hearts  in  the  upper 
panel,  they  sleep  "the  sleep  of  sweet  content."  The 
Boer  can  and  often  does  rise  to  positions  of  high  estate, 
but  once  and  for  all  he  remains,  rich  or  poor,  a  peasant. 
He  is  of  sterling  character,  keenly  intelligent,  extremely 
bigoted,  and  withal  the  vital  strength  of  the  Netherlands. 
Passing  through  the  country  one  sees  on  every  hand 
droves  of  black  and  white  cows,  ample  in  size,  generally 
clothed  in  a  jacket,  and  almost  invariably  wearing  shin- 
ing ear-rings  which  prove  to  be  pieces  of  tin,  stamped 
each  with  its  registry  number.  I  forgot  to  obtain  one  of 
these  as  a  souvenir.  These  sleek  cows  and  the  clean  and 
well  fed  pigs  are  a  familiar  sight.  Somewhere  I  have 
read  of  a  character  in  the  Netherlands  who  had  amassed 
such  a  fortune  from  pork  that  whenever  he  met  one  of  the 
beasts  he  raised  his  hat  politely.  The  town  of  Edam 
even  displays  upon  its  municipal  arms  the  figure  of  a  fine 
fat  cow,  and  I  saw  upon  one  of  the  house  fronts,  over  the 

157 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

doorway  of  a  rich  retired  Boer,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
a  butcher,  a  pig  carved  in  wood  with  a  knife  sticking 
through  its  throat.  Thus  was  this  man  proud  of  his  vo- 
cation. It  is  over  the  rich  country  called  ''Betuwe" 
(Goodland)  on  account  of  its  fertility  that  the  Boer  is 
seen  in  his  glory.  Surely  there  was  never  a  more  restful 
country.  There  are  bro^d,  grass-grown  roads,  consider- 
ably above  the  level  of  the  belt  of  fields,  and  the  rich 
cherry  orchards  and  farm-steadings,  and  it  is  hard  to  un- 
derstand that  the  safety  of  the  whole  countryside  de- 
pends upon  the  watchful  care  of  the  dyke,  standing  so 
firmly  underfoot.  But  with  study  and  observation,  we 
see  that  every  point  in  the  landscape  is  significant  and 
that  each  building  of  the  farms  has  its  own  scheme  of  pro- 
tection and  its  own  level,  and  also  why  the  farms  and  vil- 
lages in  the  ''Binnerwaarden"  hug  so  closely  the  protect- 
ing dyke.  In  the  summer  there  is  peace  for  the  farmer, 
but  in  the  late  winter  when  the  ice  breaks  up,  and  the 
river  becomes  a  torrent  beneath  the  ice,  and  the  wind 
changes  and  the  ice  melts  and  the  enormous  blocks  come 
sliding  down,  mounting  the  dyke,  then  it  is  that  the 
watchmen  cry  out  "D'r  uuti  D'r  uuti  De  Waaol  die 
kruuti"  (Come  out,  come  out,  the  ice  is  drifting)  and 
so  the  countryside  is  warned  of  the  danger  to  their  prop- 
erty, if  not  to  their  lives,  and  gather  in  defense. 
Throughout  the  fall,  winter  and  early  spring,  the  dykes 
are  patrolled  and  watched  by  throngs  of  men  and  boys 

158 


ALKMAAR,  THE  CHEESE  MARKET 

both  day  and  night.  They  well  know  that  one  tiny  crev- 
ice in  the  breastwork  neglected  may  result  in  the  flood- 
ing of  the  whole  countryside,  and  the  destruction  of  their 
homes. 


ii'9 


Be  Htutd  tind  ^n 

^|k^HE  Dutch  are  wholly  practical,  and  it  may  be  said 
lU  that  their  fame  and  reputation  as  gardeners  is  an 
^■^  entirely  commercial  one.  But  we  will  not  go  be- 
neath the  surface  in  this  chapter,  preferring  to  consider 
the  exquisite  pictures  which  we  find  from  the  artistic 
standpoint.  I  am  told  that  there  is  little  estheticism 
among  the  Dutch,  but  considering  their  use  of  pink  and 
green  paint,  used  with  such  delightful  result  upon  their 
boats  and  their  houses,  I  am  strongly  tempted  to  deny  this 
assertion.  Traveling  through  Leyden  to  Haarlem  one 
passes  through  exquisite  fields,  flooded  with  broad  sheets 
of  scarlet  and  white  and  yellow  tulips,  with  occasional 
groups  of  the  peasants  busily  working  between  the  rows. 
The  effect  is  always  unique,  and  I  should  advise  the  trav- 
eler to  climb  up  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  windmills  for 
the  best  view.  The  bulb  is  generally  grown,  not  for  the 
flower  but  for  the  *'onion,"  as  it  is  called,  and  my  Dutch 
friend  tells  me  that  in  the  season  hundreds  of  tons  of  the 
beautiful  blossoms  are  allowed  to  decay  and  are  thrown 
on  these  beds  as  fertilizer.  The  cultivation  of  tulips  is 
a  great  business  for  the  Netherlander,  and  we  all  remem- 

160 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

ber  the  stories  of  the  great  tulip  "bubble,"  when  thou- 
sands of  florins  were  paid  for  one  particular  bulb,  and 
when  one  single  "Semper  Augustus"  was  sold  for  13,000 
florins  and  the  government  intervened,  the  law  against 
gambling  was  enforced,  and  the  price  of  tulips  fell  to 
nothing.  Dealers  were  beggared  in  a  single  night.  It 
was  Cornelius  van  Baerle's  black  tulip  which  won  the 
prize  offered  by  the  Horticultural  Society  at  Haarlem. 
The  prize  was  one  hundred  thousand  florins  I 

It  was  in  1637  that  this  extraordinary  mania  took  pos- 
session of  the  Dutch,  and  the  merchants  became  so  infat- 
uated that  not  only  they,  but  nearly  every  other  citizen, 
became  engaged  in  it.  The  traffic  in  the  bulbs  was  con- 
ducted with  great  formality  by  officers  who  signed,  sealed 
and  delivered  deeds  of  transfer.  We  are  told  of  one  va- 
riety named  the  "Viceroy"  which  was  sold  for  2,500 
guilders;  and  another  "Semper  Augustus"  for  a  new  car- 
riage and  pair  of  "gray"  horses  and  4,600  guilders  be- 
sides !  Of  this  last-named  bulb  only  two  were  supposed 
to  be  in  existence,  one  at  Amsterdam  and  the  other  at 
Haarlem.  Signed  contracts  were  delivered  and  immense 
sums  of  money  paid  for  bulbs  never  seen  by  either  buyer 
or  seller.  They  were  bought  and  sold  only  with  refer- 
ence to  the  rise  and  fall  of  their  hypothetical  value.  We 
are  told  of  an  estate  in  one  case  which  had  to  be  sold 
to  meet  the  deficiency  of  a  speculator,  who  had  bound 
himself  to  deliver  a  bulb  by  a  certain  day,  the  nominal 

161 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

value  of  which  kept  rising  in  consequence  of  the  refusal 
of  the  owner  to  part  with  it.  Fortunes  were  thus  rap- 
idly made  and  lost,  and  when,  at  length,  the  bubble  burst, 
a  panic  entailing  ruin  and  despair  followed.  We  read  of 
one  town  alone  in  which  was  invested  in  hypothetical 
tulips  more  than  10,000,000  guilders. 

Spring  is  the  best  time  to  visit  Haarlem,  and  it  was  in 
the  month  of  May  that  I  first  saw  it,  and  falling  in  with 
a  charming  old  lady  in  the  railway  carriage  to  whom  I 
rendered  some  small  attention,  she  offered  me  her  silver 
candy  box.  I  did  not  then  know,  as  I  took  it,  that  this  is 
a  most  usual  form  of  courtesy  in  provincial  Holland,  and 
fortunately  I  made  no  mistake  in  accepting  and  partak- 
ing of  a  cinnamon  lozenge  from  her  box,  which  was 
handed  to  all  in  the  carriage.  She  had  that  clear  waxen 
complexion  which  one  sees  in  Franz  Hals'  paintings,  and 
her  cap  was  stiff,  and  her  collar  so  white,  and  her  dress 
so  black,  that  but  for  the  play  of  her  features  she  seemed 
unreal.  She  talked  volubly  to  her  neighbors  and  agreed 
or  disagreed  in  a  most  charming  manner.  I  took  pleasure 
in  watching  how  admirably  adapted  is  the  Dutch  counte- 
nance for  the  display  of  varied  emotions  and  thoughts. 
Across  her  face  flitted  each  expression  as  of  sun  or  shadow 
over  the  meadows,  and  I  quite  lost  myself  in  watching  it. 
There  was  also  a  priest  or  minister  in  the  carriage,  who 
took  snufF  and  occasionally  wheezed  forth  a  remonstrance 
which  interrupted  the  conversation  like  a  false  note  in  a 

162 


Haarlem — The  Amsterdam  Gate 


ingf  in  consequence  of  the  refusaj 

funes  were  thus  raj> 

when,  at  length,  the  bubble  burst, 

nnn  followed.     We  read  of 

I  in  hvruithef'u-  i) 


..ind,  and 

— -     r  ^'&  ^^^  partak- 

ige  from  her  box,  which  was 

^  ige.     She  had  that  clear  waxen 

m  Franz  Hals'  paintings,  and 

•'?  *  -  so  white,  and  her  dress 

!,,r  f^nf..r.>.  cV...  seemed 


»\ue)  m^^\  .     «.,\V— mbV^ViiAV 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

tune.  I  failed  to  understand  what  the  argument  was 
about,  but  whatever  it  was,  he  was  a  pessimist  and  al- 
ways began  his  objections  with  a  shake  of  the  head  and 
the  words,  "Neen,  neen,  dat  ik  kan  nietl" 

During  a  lull  in  the  conversation  I  ventured  the  infor- 
mation that  I  was  bound  for  Haarlem  to  see  the  tulips 
and  hyacinths.  At  the  sound  of  my  voice  and  my  pro- 
nunciation he  elongated  his  neck  the  better  to  look  at  me, 
and  ejaculated,  "English?'  I  replied,  "No,  American." 
To  which  he  responded  "Asherbliff"  (phonetically). 
This  I  afterwards  found  means  at  will  either  "Please," 
"Good-by,"  "Thank  you,"  "How  much?"  "What  did 
you  say?"  Whether  it  is  really  comprehensive  as  all 
that  is  a  question,  but  certainly  as  remarked  elsewhere  I 
found  it  most  effective  and  useful  in  eking  out  conversa- 
tion. 

I  asked  to  be  advised  as  to  a  stopping-place  somewhat 
outside  of  the  town,  and  to  my  amazement  and  delight 
the  old  lady,  who  was  examining  my  sketch  book,  invited 
me  to  come  with  her,  and  I  thankfully  accepted  her  invi-. 
tation.  She  pointed  out  the  different  plats  of  tulips  and 
hyacinths  as  we  bumped  along  in  the  railway  carriage, 
naming  each  so  delightfully  that  I  wished  for  the  art  of 
stenography  that  I  might  take  it  down  in  shorthand.  At 
the  station  a  high-bodied  tilbury  was  in  waiting,  and  into 
this  I  put  her  innumerable  bundles  and  baskets,  and 
helping  her  up  the  high  step,  scrambled  in  after  her,  seat- 

163 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

ing  myself  beside  her  under  the  white  canvas  hood  at  the 
back.  A  boy  in  absurdly  short  trousers,  not  short  enough 
for  knickerbockers,  and  with  a  thin  neck  wound  around 
with  an  orange  scarf  of  many  thick  folds  scrambled  up  on 
a  small  seat  before  us  and  we  were  off.  The  fat,  hollow- 
backed  horse  galloped  down  the  Jans  Weg  past  the 
Groote  Kerk  and  across  the  Spaarne  out  into  the  country, 
where  at  the  end  of  a  lovely  shady  lane  the  boy  pulled 
up  the  fat  horse.  We  descended  and  walked  through  a 
gate  and  up  a  little  front  garden  walk  bright  with  flow- 
ers to  the  side  door  of  a  quaint-looking  two-story  house 
with  much  green  paint  and  many  wide-paned  windows 
with  white-painted  sashes  in  black  frames.  The  walks 
between  the  beds  of  flowers  were  of  dark  burned  brick 
set  sideways.  The  old  lady  opened  the  door  with  a  large 
brass  key  and  motioned  me  to  enter.  The  door  opened 
upon  a  sort  of  corridor — and  a  sleek  black  and  white  cat 
rose  lazily  from  a  woven  mat  and  stretched  itself,  and  a 
starling  in  a  wicker  cage  fluttered  about  to  attract  atten- 
tion. Down  the  middle  of  the  corridor  ran  a  mat  well 
and  truly  laid  so  that  seemingly  it  deviated  not  an  inch 
to  the  right  or  left,  and  the  boards  on  either  side  were 
painted  a  dark  red  and  polished  or  waxed  so  that  they 
shone.  The  parlor  was  a  veritable  blaze  of  color,  the  car- 
pet a  mosaic  of  red,  brilliant  greens  and  yellows,  and 
looked  as  though  purchased  the  day  before.  Antimacas- 
sars, crocheted  mats,  mirrors  in  ebony  and  gilded  frames 

164 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

there  were,  all  spotless  and  unscratched.  In  the  big 
cupboards  which  lined  the  walls  was  row  upon  row  of 
fine  china;  each  plate  in  upright  position.  Across  the 
corridor  and  through  the  door  opposite  was  the  sleeping 
"Kamer."  Here  a  large,  somewhat  bare  room  with  a 
table  in  the  center  and  innumerable  doors  arranged  on 
two  walls  proved  a  surprise.  I  found  these  doors  to  be 
sliding  ones,  and  each  masked  a  sort  of  cupboard  in  which 
was  the  bed,  which  quite  fitted  the  space.  One  gets  into 
the  bed  at  night  and  then  closes  the  door.  I  leave  it  to 
the  reader's  imagination  how  I  succeeded  that  night  in 
undressing  in  the  common  room,  but  I  did  it  bravely  and 
successfully.  There  was,  of  course,  no  such  thing  as  a 
bathroom,  but  a  large  basin  behind  the  door  in  the  kitchen 
served  me  fairly  well  for  the  three  days  I  spent  with  the 
charming  old  "Vrouwe."  She  presented  me  with  a  fine, 
large  sausage  when  we  parted. 

In  this  region  the  air  is  heavy  with  the  odor  of  flowers, 
which  bloom  and  thrive  well  in  the  sandy  soil.  Be- 
tween the  city  and  the  sea  lie  the  great  sand  dunes,  bil- 
lowy and  grassy.  I  saw  a  large  and  very  beautifully 
kept  house  in  the  midst  of  great  trees,  a  stretch  of  lovely 
green  lawn  and  a  tiny  deer  park,  with  the  innocent  crea- 
tures poking  their  noses  at  the  passer-by.  Here,  too,  one 
sees  many  stork  nests  upon  long  poles,  carefully  tended 
by  the  householders,  and  over  a  gate  I  saw  painted  the 
name  of  one  of  the  villas,  and  a  most  charming  and  cozy 

165 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

home  it  was,  "Niet  Zoo  Quaalyk"  (not  so  bad) ,  which 
struck  me  as  quaint  and  true.  All  in  all,  Haarlem,  al- 
though modern  as  to  houses  and  villas,  has  much  to  attract 
one,  and  especially,  as  I  have  said,  in  the  spring,  for  later 
in  the  summer  the  whole  of  this  part  of  Holland  is  hot 
and  unbearable.  The  best  part  of  the  town  is  on  the 
Kleine  Hout  Straat  and  along  the  Spaarne,  near  the  Turf 
and  Kaas  markets,  where  many  types  of  sixteenth-cen- 
tury gabled  houses  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  on  the  east 
side  the  fine  Amsterdam  gate,  with  its  medieval  fortified 
bastions  and  towers  and  turrets  in  good  preservation. 

For  many  years  the  question  has  been  debated.  Shall 
the  Zuyderzee  be  drained?  and  many  schemes  have  been 
brought  before  the  authorities  to  reclaim  the  area  lying 
within  a  line  drawn  from  Enkhuizen  to  the  island  of 
Urk  and  thence  to  Kampen.  Another  scheme  provides 
for  the  carrying  on  of  the  work  in  a  system  of  large  sec- 
tions by  means  of  an  embankment  from  Wieringen  (the 
island  which  has  become  famous  as  the  refuge  of  the 
former  Crown  Prince  of  Germany)  to  the  Frisian  coast, 
seventeen  feet  above  high  water  mark,  and  carrying  a 
railway  and  a  broad  road  for  general  traffic.  Both 
plans  provide  for  a  deep  and  wide  canal  to  Amster- 
dam. Thirty  years  is  the  estimated  time  required  for 
the  work,  at  a  cost  of  many  millions  of  dollars.  It  is  not 
money  alone  which  prevents  this  great  improvement,  nor 
yet  is  it  the  engineering  difficulties.     It  is  questioned 

166 


IH 


•<£^iraJK*»»?-;<!5.';v.''-  ■'»■«.■■.«.  I  ■  ■.  ^TJ;-/  ■_ 


Enkhuizen — The  Weigh  House 


r^  A  \' 


home  k  V  A     (not  so  bad),  which 

ill,  Haarlem,  al- 


thoi 


i)l:ins 


Iter 


n  good 
question  i  ited,  Shall 

the  jained*?  and  i  ohemcs  have  been 

hro!  author  iaim  the  area  lying 

'.en  to  the  island  of 
scheme  provi'des 


(the 


dam. 

n-e  work,  at  :x 

alone  wh 


'>v.«o\\  .j^;nT\  u  ,.-v>\\\v\uj\ 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

whether  or  not  the  reclaimed  Polder  would  be  fruitful 
enough  for  farms,  but  it  would  seem  as  if  the  authorities 
were  satisfied  upon  this  point,  for  the  work  has  begun 
already.  The  land  reclaimed  is  to  be  sold  to  the  peas- 
antry for  nominal  sums. 

The  great  Fen  district  lies  in  the  provinces  of  Drenthe 
and  Groningen.  It  may  be  described  broadly  as  a  vast 
expanse  of  sad,  russet-colored  prairie,  dotted  with  flocks 
of  sheep  tended  by  solitary  shepherds.  Once  a  vast  for- 
est, the  trees  of  which  decayed  and  fell  and  rotted  away, 
the  land  lay  undisturbed  for  centuries.  Now  canals 
have  been  dug  miles  across  the  country,  with  others  inter- 
secting at  right  angles  and  the  water  drained  from  the 
sodden  soil.  Collections  of  huts  and  picturesque  dwell- 
ings are  seen  here  and  there,  inhabited  by  the  peat-cut- 
ters. It  is  extremely  dispiriting  to  watch  the  laborers  at 
work.  They  wear  especially  made  boots  which  protect 
them,  and  with  sharp-edged  spades  cut  out  the  lumps  of 
soggy  peat  in  a  very  expert  manner.  The  workmen 
stack  these  small  pieces  in  barrow  loads  and  they  are  then 
taken  to  one  side,  where  they  are  piled  with  spaces  be- 
tween, giving  free  circulation  to  the  air,  which  dries  them 
rapidly,  and  the  cubes  are  then  ready  for  market.  Huge 
barges  carry  the  peat  to  market,  bringing  back  sweepings 
and  refuse  from  the  town  which  is  spread  over  the  soil 
to  fill  the  excavations.  Here  are  gathered  the  famous 
"Fen  colonies,"  and  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  stir  and 

167 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

traffic  to  be  seen.  The  government  maintains  these  com- 
munities as  a  sort  of  charity,  and  the  work  is  carried  on 
mainly  by  pauper  labor.  The  result,  I  am  told,  is  not 
even  self-supporting,  a  large  deficit  having  to  be  met 
every  year.  The  relief  of  the  poor,  though  it  is  part  of 
the  work  of  the  local  authority,  is  in  a  great  degree  a 
charge  imposed  upon  the  churches,  each  religious  body 
accepting  the  burden  of  its  own  poor ;  almost  all  of  them 
maintain  their  own  almshouses,  and  some  of  them  even 
their  own  hospitals. 

The  chief  of  the  penal  colonies  is  at  Veenhuizen,  and 
convicted  beggars  and  tramps  who  are  able-bodied,  and 
also  those  who  have  been  arrested  for  drunkenness  three 
times  within  twelve  months,  are  sent  here  for  periods  of 
from  three  months  to  three  years.  This  is  only  the  case 
with  men,  female  convicts  being  sent  to  Rotterdam. 
There  are  three  of  these  colonies,  in  which  are  over  3,000 
convicts.  They  live  in  barracks,  are  fed  on  black  bread, 
with  no  luxuries  whatever,  and  earn  on  an  average  one 
shilling  a  week,  one-third  of  which  is  retained  by  the 
authorities  until  the  release  of  the  convict.  They  do  all 
sorts  of  work,  farming,  tailoring,  weaving  and  shoe-mak- 
ing. They  manufacture  nearly  all  that  they  require  for 
their  own  needs.  The  life  seems  to  be  attractive,  for  I 
am  told  the  same  convicts  return  to  the  colonies  year  after 
year.  The  authorities  think  the  existence  of  the  colonies 
is  justified  by  the  fact  that  by  its  means  thousands  of  idle 

168 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

men  are  kept  off  the  streets,  but  the  State  does  not  in- 
tend, it  is  said,  to  extend  the  system,  and  it  gives  as  a 
reason  the  fact  that  such  colonies  have  never  exerted  an 
educative  influence,  and  that  it  is  doubtful  if  the  inmates 
are  ever  really  reformed,  for  it  has  been  discovered  that 
many  of  the  inmates  are  sent  here  with  a  connivance  of 
the  authorities,  that  is  to  say,  the  police,  especially  dur- 
ing the  severe  winter  season.  But  it  must  be  said  that 
the  system  is  carried  on  in  an  altogether  admirable  man- 
ner which  we  might  well  emulate  in  America. 

There  are  in  Holland  three  great  universities :  Leyden, 
which  was  established  in  1575;  Groningen,  1614; 
Utrecht,  in  1634.  The  first  named  was  for  two  centuries 
the  most  famous  in  Europe,  far  more  renowned  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century  than  were  Oxford,  Cambridge  or  Paris. 
Some  of  the  scholars  of  the  age,  such  as  Scaliger,  Grotius, 
Arminius,  Gomarus  and  Descartes,  were  connected  with 
it.  It  is  still  well  known,  principally  as  a  school  of  medi- 
cine and  science.  Fielding,  the  novelist,  is  reported  to 
have  been  a  pupil,  as  was  Oliver  Goldsmith.  The  library 
is  the  finest  in  all  Holland,  containing  some  300,000  vol- 
umes and  a  collection  of  priceless  and  unique  manu- 
scripts. The  University  of  Groningen  is  now  less  fash- 
ionable than  that  of  Leyden,  but  it  is  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition and  its  handsome  buildings  ornament  the  town. 
I  did  not  gain  entrance  to  it,  however.  Of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Utrecht,  too,  I  am  unable  to  speak  with  authority, 

169 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

for  my  time  in  that  town  was  very  brief  and  I  only  saw 
it  from  a  distance.  Those  who  wish  to  read  upon  this 
point  may  consult  Boswell's  amusing  letters  to  Dr.  John- 
son. 

One  of  the  quaintest  spots  in  the  whole  of  the  Nether- 
lands is  "St.  Anna's,"  at  Leyden.  My  Dutch  friend 
brought  me  to  the  doorway  on  the  "Hooigracht,"  which 
is  marked  St.  Anna's  "Hofje,"  which  means  almshouse. 
The  door  was  open  and  gave  upon  a  long  passage  leading 
to  a  little  cloistered  square. 

One  seemed  to  have  stepped  into  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  maybe  the  buildings  existed  as  they  now 
stand  away  back  in  1492,  when  the  almshouse  was  built. 
The  buildings  are  all  out  of  perpendicular.  There  is  a 
quaint  little  chapel,  about  twelve  feet  square,  which  I  am 
informed  has  not  been  changed  in  any  feature  since  that 
date.  There  is  a  painting  here  by  Lucas  van  Leidan, 
and  above  the  chapel  is  the  tiny  room  of  the  priest,  con- 
taining the  furniture  as  he  left  it,  his  confessional  chair, 
the  small,  oak-paneled  recess  for  his  bed,  his  copper  warm- 
ing-pan, and  the  iron  chest  for  his  collections.  Here, 
living  in  delightful  quietude,  live  a  number  of  nice,  clean 
old  ladies,  who  seem  perfectly  happy  and  who  greet  one 
with  great  politeness.  Each  old  lady  has  a  room  to  her- 
self with  a  little  wall  bed  in  a  cupboard  with  nice,  clean 
sheets  and  pillow,  and  a  pantry  containing  a  cup  and 
saucer,  a  plate,  a  bowl,  a  knife  and  fork  and  a  towel. 

170 


■j^J^^^-^JiivJ),  .*.*-- 


Harlingen,  from  the  Water 


HOT,;, ANT)  OF  TO-DAY 

lor  c  vHai  town  was  very  L>rict  and  I  only  saw 

't  fV'  '  '  to  read  upon  this 

'  o  Dr.  John- 


Uiic  6€tiiied  to  have  st/  h 

century,  and  maybe  the  ' 

St:  ■      .  ^kxishouse  was  buik. 

'ular.     Thers 

•ich  1  aril 

e  since  that 

iitie  i  Leidan, 


sheet 

saucf  T, 


•v^\uH\  ^Al  mot\  ^K^^KthviH 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

Above  the  general  living-room  is  the  kitchen,  which  is 
likewise  of  delightful  cleanliness.  One  old  lady  pointed 
out  the  flat  stone  before  the  chapel  marking  the  entrance 
to  the  secret  passage  from  the  cloisters  to  the  church.  I 
have  a  lively  recollection  of  the  charming  smile  and  the 
low  courtesy  which  the  old  lady  made  when  I  dropped  a 
small  piece  of  silver  in  her  hand. 

Everything  about  Groningen  [pronounced  H-ron- 
ing'n]  seems  in  good  order  and  very  prosperous.  Scat- 
tered all  about  are  the  handsome,  well-kept  habitations 
of  the  farmer,  sometimes  three-story  stone  or  brick  houses, 
well  built  and  substantial,  with  a  hedge-like  row  of 
clipped  trees  and  before  these  neat  gardens  with  grass 
plots  and  bright  flowers.  At  the  back  of  the  house,  which 
its  peak  often  overtops,  is  the  huge  red-tiled  roof  of  the 
barn,  large  enough  for  the  complete  housing  of  the  crops, 
for  the  comfortable  accommodation  of  its  live  stock  and 
much  besides.  On  every  side  is  the  evidence  of  wealth, 
and  the  absence  of  poverty  suggests  the  richness  of  the 
soil  and  a  most  skillful  and  industrious  people.  Here  is 
the  town  pump,  about  which  a  throng  of  women  and  girls 
were  waiting  in  turn  to  fill  the  pails  that  hung  from 
wooden,  brass-bound,  green-painted  neck-yokes.  They 
were  chatting  gaily,  quite  heedless  of  the  rain  which  had 
begun  to  fall.  Evidently  their  stout  woolen  dresses 
could  not  be  injured,  and  certainly  they  themselves 
looked  hearty  enough  to  withstand  any  amount  of  such 

171 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

exposure.  Like  all  the  women  of  their  class,  their  heads 
bore  the  marvelous  cap  of  the  province,  which  consists  of 
a  closely  fitting  cap,  or  muts^  of  white  cotton,  another, 
equally  close,  of  black  silk,  and  over  these  a  solid  plaque 
of  shining  gold  or  silver  covering  the  whole  head,  save  a 
small  space  at  the  crown.  The  side  pieces  like  wings 
stretch  upward  from  beside  each  eye.  They  are  not 
quite  as  large  as  the  blinders  of  a  horse's  bridle,  and  the 
band  by  which  these  are  joined  at  the  back  is  three  inches 
wide.  This  is  the  head-gear  worn  by  the  working  women 
even  in  the  early  morning,  but  on  fete  days  and  Sunday 
they  wear  the  added  decoration  of  engraved,  embossed, 
or  filigree  ornaments  of  the  same  metal  nearly  two  inches 
across,  attached  to  the  front  of  the  plate,  and  making  the 
effect  of  gold  or  silver  rosettes  beside  each  eye.  On  un- 
usual occasions  they  will  wear  a  fourth  covering  of  very 
thin  lace  drawn  close  over  the  forehead  and  hanging  in  a 
full  cape  behind.  I  went  to  buy  one  of  these  gold 
plaques  as  a  curiosity,  not  knowing  its  value.  The 
cheapest  one,  I  found,  was  priced  one  hundred  and  ten 
gulden,  about  $55  in  our  money.  The  silver  ones,  of 
course,  are  cheaper,  but  still  very  costly.  At  last  I  found 
one  of  gilded  brass,  but  I  was  told  with  disdain  by  the 
shopkeeper  that  no  peasant  girl  would  sacrifice  her  self- 
respect  and  wear  a  thing  like  that.  Alas,  I  saw  in  the 
street  as  I  came  out  of  the  shop  a  peasant  woman  of  the 
better  class,  wearing  her  beautiful  lace  cap,  on  which  was 

172 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

perched  a  most  atrocious  French  bonnet  with  a  bunch  of 
impossible  fruit  and  flowers  and  surmounted  by  a  long 
black  ostrich  feather.  Thus  has  the  fashion  of  Paris  pen- 
etrated even  to  this  out-of-the-way  spot. 

Although  it  was  summer  time,  I  do  not  remember  ever 
seeing  an  open  window  in  a  private  house  in  the  Nether- 
lands. They  are  generally  curtained  with  lace  and  have 
a  vase  of  flowers  conspicuously  displayed.  Glancing 
within,  the  people  seem  to  the  casual  observer  to  be  per- 
petually engaged  in  making  and  drinking  tea,  for  there 
is  generally  seen  on  a  polished  mahogany  table  a  lavishly 
brass-bound  pail  of  burning  peat,  with  a  polished  hot 
water  kettle  over  it,  all  ready  for  instant  use.  There  is 
something  very  engaging  in  a  country  which  can  so  se- 
renely preserve  its  original  character  amid  the  whirl  of 
twentieth-century  changes,  where  you  can  buy  a  good 
cigar  for  a  cent,  and  an  American  woman  would  be  fol- 
lowed and  her  costume  smiled  at  by  a  peasant  wearing 
the  absurd  French  bonnet  to  which  I  have  alluded.  To 
the  very  comfortable  hotel  we  returned  to  pass  the  night, 
and  found  a  very  good  supper  of  boiled  eggs,  veal  cutlets, 
many  varieties  of  cheese  and  hot  tea,  fresh  from  a  neat  lit- 
tle kitchen,  all  shining  with  brass  and  bright  tiles.  But 
one  must  not  believe  in  the  exaggeration  of  the  guide 
books.  There  are  to  be  found  in  the  Netherlands  no  such 
ridiculous  customs  and  contrasts  as  they  would  have  you 
believe.     The  keels  of  ships  do  not  float  above  the  chim- 

173 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

neys  of  the  houses,  nor  does  the  frog  croaking  in  the  bul- 
rushes gaze  upon  the  swallows  upon  the  house-tops. 

And  now  let  us  go  down  to  the  North  Sea  and  see  how 
the  Dutch  people  enjoy  themselves  in  the  summer.  Of 
course  the  largest  of  the  watering-places  in  the  Nether- 
lands is  Scheveningen,  and  it  has  a  splendid  bathing 
beach,  which  makes  it  an  attractive  resort  for  fashionable 
Germans  and  Hollanders,  and  for  summer  travelers  from 
all  over  the  world.  At  the  top  of  the  long  dyke  is  a  row 
of  hotels  and  restaurants,  and  when  one  reaches  this  point 
after  passing  through  the  lovely  old  wood  of  stately  trees 
one  is  suddenly  ushered  into  the  twentieth  century,  for 
here  all  is  fashion  and  gay  life,  yet  with  a  character  all  its 
own.  Along  the  edge  of  the  beach  are  the  bathing  ma- 
chines in  scores,  and  behind  them  are  long  lines  of  cov- 
ered wicker  chairs  of  peculiar  form,  each  with  its  foot- 
stool, where  one  may  sit,  shaded  from  the  sun  and  shel- 
tered from  the  wind,  and  read,  chat  or  doze  by  the  hour. 
Bath  women  are  seen  quaintly  clad  with  their  baskets  of 
bathing  dresses  and  labeled  with  the  signs  bearing  their 
names,  such  as  "Trintje"  or  "Netje";  everywhere  there 
are  sightseers,  peddlers  calling  their  wares,  children  dig- 
ging in  the  sand,  strolling  players  performing  and  the 
sound  of  bands  of  music  in  the  distance.  So  there  is  no 
lack  of  amusement  here  during  the  season.  The  spa- 
cious "Kurhaus"  with  its  verandas  and  "Kursaal,"  which 
is  large  enough  to  accommodate  2,500  people,  is  in  the 

174    . 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

center  of  the  dyke.  There  are  concerts  every  evening, 
and  although  the  town  is  filled  with  hotels  during  the 
months  of  June,  July,  August  and  September,  they  are 
quite  monopolized  by  the  Hollanders  and  the  prices  are 
very  high.  The  magnificent  pier  is  450  yards  long. 
The  charges  for  bathing  are  very  moderate,  varying  from 
twenty  cents  for  a  small  bathing  box  to  fifty  cents  for  a 
large  one,  including  the  towels.  Bathing  costumes  range 
from  five  to  twenty-five  cents.  The  tickets  are  num- 
bered, and  as  soon  as  a  machine  is  vacant  a  number  is 
called  by  the  *'bad  man"  and  the  holder  of  the  corre- 
sponding number  claims  the  machine.  The  basket  chairs 
cost  for  the  whole  day  only  twenty  cents,  Dutch  money. 
One  may  obtain  a  subscription  to  the  "Kurhaus"  at  a 
surprisingly  reasonable  rate  for  the  day,  week  or  season. 
There  is  a  daily  orchestra;  ballet  and  operatic  concerts 
once  a  week;  dramatic  performances  and  frequent  hops 
throughout  the  season.  There  is  a  local  saying  that  when 
good  Dutchmen  die  they  go  to  Scheveningen,  and  this  is 
certainly  their  heaven.  To  stand  on  the  pier  on  a  fine 
day  during  the  season  looking  down  on  these  long  lines 
of  wicker  chairs,  turned  seaward,  is  an  astonishing  sight. 
They  are  shaped  somewhat  like  huge  snail  shells,  and 
around  these  the  children  delight  to  dig  in  the  sand, 
throwing  up  miniature  dunes  around  one.  Perhaps  no 
seashore  in  the  world  has  been  painted  so  much  as  Schev- 
eningen.    Mesdag,  Maris,  Alfred  Stevens,  to  name  only 

175 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

a  few  of  the  artists,  have  found  here  themes  for  many 
paintings,  and  the  scene  is  a  wonderful  one  when  the 
homing  fleet  of  "Boms,"  as  the  fishing-boats  are  called, 
appears  in  the  offing  to  be  welcomed  by  the  iisherwomen. 
There  are  other  smaller  watering-places  on  the  coast,  but 
Scheveningen  is  unique. 

In  the  little  fishing  town  itself,  the  scene  on  the  return 
of  the  men  is  very  interesting.  Women  and  children  are 
busily  hurrying  about  from  house  to  house,  and  every- 
where in  the  little  streets  are  strange  signs  chalked  up  on 
the  shutters,  such  as  "water  en  vuur  te  koop,"  that  is, 
water  and  fire  for  sale ;  and  here  are  neatly  painted  buck- 
ets of  iron,  each  having  a  kettle  of  boiling  water  over  it 
and  a  lump  of  burning  turf  at  the  bottom.  Fish  is  being 
cleaned  and  the  gin  shops  are  well  patronized,  for  it  seems 
a  common  habit  in  this  moist  northern  climate  frequently 
to  take  what  they  call  "Een  sneeuwballetje"  of  gin  and 
sugar,  which  does  not  taste  at  all  bad,  be  it  said.  All 
sorts  of  strange-looking  people  are  met  in  the  little  nar- 
row street,  and  all  doing  strange-looking  things,  but  with 
the  air  of  its  being  in  no  wise  unusual  with  them.  All  in 
all,  Scheveningen  is  an  entertaining  spot  in  which  to  lin- 
ger.    But  remember,  one  pays  florins  here,  not  francs. 

The  names  of  the  fishing  boats  are  sufficiently  curious 
to  demand  space.  In  the  summer  the  herring  fishery  is 
carried  on  from  the  town  of  Scheveningen,  Vlaardingen, 
Maasluis,  Katwijk,  Noordwijk,   the  Helder,   and  the 

176 


A-^s^ia^ms:-''^^'':.-Hm>,,aMt.^^i^^-i::^iii^ii:',>l.^iS^(M^;s>^.:^,.Uii^^  ,^^  t 


i, 


Delftshaven 


:d  of  today 

^ts,  have  found  here  themes  for  manv 

I  rhf  scprjf  is  n  ^'.-vnHerful  one  when  the 
— ,    -  <^-^'^^«t^  Rre  called, 

^hr  nf^n-'  to  he  er women, 

•^ast,  but 


i»  '  1  i  t-1^ 


every- 

i^Ji.i-    V  iji.:4i.  rvv,«wi    up    on 

^^T  te  koop,"  that  is, 

-  -  -.  4  re  neatly  painted  buck- 

>f  iron,  ^  *  .^vvJe  of  boiling  water  over  it 

a  lump  . .  ..  urf  at  the  bottom.     Fish  is  being 

*  '^  and  the  gi^^  ...i..ps  are  well  patronized,  for  it  seems 

'^  Habit  in  this  moist  northern  climate  frequently 

,-  A.^.-    ,11  -TT..^  sneeuwballetje"  of  gin  and 

e  at  all  bad,  be  it  said.     All 

'^  are  met  in  die  little  nar- 

'     ■'•-"  things,  but  with 

^^  ^.     All  in 


»(\ 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

South  Holland  Island  villages,  Middel  Harnis,  Pernis 
and  Zwuartewaal.  The  boats  are  named  Hooker,  Hoek- 
erbuis.  Logger,  Sloop,  Bom,  Tjalk;  and  in  these  boats, 
which  are  known  in  English  as  busses,  swordpinks,  flat- 
bottoms  and  Holland  toads,  the  fishing  industry  is  car- 
ried on.  In  the  discovery  of  1380  by  Willem  Beukels- 
zoon,  native  of  the  Zeeland  village  Biervliet,  of  the  art  of 
preserving  the  herring  with  salt,  the  Dutch  fisheries  be- 
came extremely  profitable,  and  the  method  of  preserving 
the  fish  is,  I  am  told,  the  same  to-day.  These  strangely 
named  boats  patrol  all  of  the  seas,  practically,  of  the 
North,  and  even  in  the  winter  there  is  a  considerable  in- 
dustry in  the  cod  fishery.  The  "buss"  is  the  oldest 
known  model  of  all.  Models  of  these  may  be  seen  hang- 
ing from  the  ceiling  of  the  church  at  Maasluis,  but  the 
large,  square,  flat-bottomed  "boms"  which  we  see  on  the 
beach  at  Scheveningen  are  the  most  familiar  of  all,  and 
they  came  into  being  from  the  fact  that  most  of  the  towns 
on  the  coast  are  without  harbors  and  they  are  required  to 
run  up  on  the  sand.  In  the  month  of  June,  which  was 
called  the  herring  month  in  the  olden  time,  the  herring 
hunters,  bearing  the  blue  flag  at  the  masthead,  pursued 
the  herring  in  the  North  Sea,  and  eagerly  the  town  of 
Vlaardingen  watched  for  the  first  sight  of  the  returning 
vessels.  The  people  thronged  to  the  dykes,  and  when 
the  blue  flag  was  run  up  on  the  tower,  they  all  shouted 
the  song  called  "Die  Nieuwe  Harang."     When  the  catch 

177 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

was  brought  ashore  there  was  tremendous  excitement 
among  the  buyers  as  to  which  should  purchase  the  first 
herring,  the  price  of  which  was  often  absurd.  But  all 
this  is  now  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  at  the  present  day 
Vlaardingen  pays,  I  am  told,  but  little  attention  to  the 
herring,  cod  and  haddock  having  taken  its  place. 

Delft,  which  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  so  cele- 
brated the  world  over  for  its  pottery  and  porcelain,  has 
lately  revived  the  industry  in  a  very  modern  manufac- 
tory. It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  the  Delft  ware  of 
the  present  day  equals  in  any  respect  the  beautiful  work- 
manship of  old.  There  is  an  interesting  institution,  the 
town  hospital,  which  contains  four  remarkable,  anatom- 
ical pictures,  one  of  which  is  said  to  be  the  earliest  paint- 
ing of  the  kind,  executed  in  1617  by  Van  Mierevelt. 
The  other  two  are  of  later  date.  One  should  visit  here 
the  celebrated  model  room  of  the  dock  yard,  which  con- 
tains many  remarkable  models  of  ships  and  mills.  Near 
the  Rotterdam  gate  is  a  large,  gloomy  building,  partly 
surrounded  by  water  and  showing  the  arms  of  the  Dutch 
Republic.  It  was  originally  used  as  a  warehouse  by  the 
East  India  Company.  On  the  "Oude  Delft"  is  the 
*Trinsenhof,"  the  scene  of  the  assassination  of  William 
of  Orange,  the  founder  of  Dutch  independence,  who  was 
assassinated  here  on  the  10th  of  July,  1584.  The  spot 
where  the  tragedy  took  place  is  on  the  first  floor  by  the 
staircase.     The  murderer  was  a  Burgundian,  Balthasar 

178 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

Gerhard,  who,  prompted  by  a  desire  for  gain,  lay  in  wait 
for  his  victim  and  shot  him  when  he  descended  the  stair- 
case. The  custode  grimly  points  out  the  mark  left  by  the 
fatal  bullet.  The  assassin's  fate  was  a  horrible  one. 
He  was  torn  to  pieces  by  red-hot  pincers.  [See  Mot- 
ley's "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Dutch  Republic."]  The  fine 
Gothic  "Oude  Kerk"  with  a  leaning  tower  enshrines  the 
monument  of  Admiral  Maarten  Harpertzoon  Tromp, 
victor  of  thirty-two  naval  battles.  It  was  he  who,  de- 
feating the  English  fleet  under  Blake,  lashed  a  broom  to 
his  masthead,  signifying  that  he  had  swept  the  sea. 
There  is  also  a  monument  to  Piet  Hein,  the  admiral 
of  the  India  Company,  who  in  1628  captured  the  Spanish 
silver  fleet,  valued  at  1 2,000,000  florins.  In  his  honor  an 
amusing  comic  song  is  still  sung.  In  the  Niewe  Kerk  is 
a  magnificent  monument,  the  work  of  Hendrik  de  Keyser 
and  A.  Quellin,  erected  in  1621,  to  the  memory  of  Wil- 
liam of  Orange.  The  great  Prince,  sculptured  in  mar- 
ble, reclines  on  a  black  sarcophagus  at  full  length  beneath 
a  sort  of  canopy  upheld  by  four  curious  pillars,  cut  in 
marble.  There  are  four  allegorical  figures.  Liberty,  Jus- 
tice, Prudence  and  Religion.  At  the  statue's  head  is  an- 
other in  bronze,  showing  William  in  full  military  uni- 
form. The  bronze  figure  of  Fame  with  outspread  wings 
is  at  the  foot.  Below  the  feet  lies  the  Prince's  favorite 
dog,  who  saved  his  life  in  1572  at  his  camp  at  Malines  in 
Belgium  when  he  was  attacked  by  two  Spanish  assassins. 

179 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

Here  likewise  repose  the  remains  of  his  wife  and  his  son, 
Prince  Maurice.  Hugo  Grotius  also  lies  here  under- 
neath a  very  simple  monument.  There  are  some  fine 
paintings  in  the  handsome  Stadhuis  in  the  market-place. 
What  is  called  a  "corporation  piece"  shows  a  great  num- 
ber of  gesticulating  figures  signed  by  J.  W.  Delph,  1592. 
These  are  said  to  be  the  "Arquebusiers."  There  are  also 
here  a  large  number  of  portraits  of  the  Princes  of  Orange. 
The  town  is  a  quiet  and  silent  place,  a  veritable  "drowsie- 
town."  The  Earl  of  Leicester,  visiting  it  in  1585,  de- 
scribes it  as  "another  London  almost  for  beauty  and  fair- 
ness." Sir  Robert  Cecil  traveling  in  Holland  in  1588 
recorded  it  as  "the  finest  built  town  he  ever  saw." 
Pepys  called  it  "a  most  sweet  towne,"  and  many  other 
more  modern  writers  have  followed  suit  and  have  praised 
it. 

There  are  indeed  few  towns  which  better  retain  their 
ancient  aspect  than  the  old  and  grave  town  of  Delft, 
where  massive  dark  houses  are  aligned  along  both  sides 
of  sleepy  umbrageous  canals,  on  which  float  barges  of 
archaic  build,  lavishly  striped  with  green  paint  and 
trimmed  with  shining  brass.  The  town  is  a  very  silent 
one,  save  for  the  chimes  which  sound  clearly  and  not  un- 
musically, and  it  would  seem  as  if  the  people  themselves 
feel  the  solemn  influence  of  the  quietude,  for  they  seem 
to  move  slowly  in  the  streets,  and  there  is  little  or  none  of 
the  noise  and  bustle  met  with  in  Rotterdam.     Delft 

180 


Delft— The  "New  Church' 


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BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

seems  of  the  past,  but  it  has  a  very  thriving  Polytechnic 
School  at  which  hundreds  of  young  Hollanders  are  study- 
ing engineering,  the  better  to  cope  with  the  perpetual 
menace  of  the  sea.  The  skill  of  the  Dutch  engineer  is 
proverbial,  and  to  this  well  equipped  school  come  many 
students  from  the  colonies  and  South  America. 

The  name  Delft  means  simply  blue  Dutch  plates  to 
most  people,  but  the  plates  that  are  now  made  here  are 
not  at  all  real  "blue  Delft."  The  ancient  secret  of  the 
blue  color,  and  the  porcelain,  seems  to  be  a  lost  formula. 
Modern  Delft  is  pretty  and  cheap — this  characterizes  it. 
There  is,  however,  I  am  informed,  a  new  fabrication  of 
* 'faience,"  which  merits  respect,  especially  that  made  by 
the  house  of  Brouwer  at  Leiderdorp,  and  by  Lanooy  at 
Gouda.  In  the  museum  Van  Meerton  is  a  very  choice 
collection  of  old  Delft  ware  which  is  displayed  with  much 
knowledge  and  judgment. 

The  Dutch  regard  Delft  as  one  of  the  most  important 
historical  towns  in  the  Netherlands.  In  the  "Oude 
Kerk,"  the  antiquary  interested  in  such  matters  may  read 
another  page  in  the  history  of  the  Netherlands,  for  "the 
most  glorious  souvenirs  are  there  to  be  found."  So  says 
my  Dutch  friend,  whose  knowledge  of  these  matters  is 
profound. 

The  ancient  "Prinsenhof"  was  the  palace  of  Princes  of 
Orange,  and  within  its  walls  "William  the  Taciturn"  re- 
ceived from  the  people,  as  founder  of  their  independence, 

181 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

his  title  of  honor.  Here,  as  is  well  known,  he  was  assas- 
sinated on  July  lOth,  1584. 

In  the  "Nieuwe  Kerk"  is  his  mausoleum,  erected  by 
the  people  as  a  token  of  their  veneration. 

The  sculptor  Hendrik  de  Keyzer,  inspired  by  the 
character  of  this  remarkable  man,  produced  in  this  tomb 
a  work  of  art  of  striking  originality  and  beauty.  In  the 
crypt  repose  the  remains  of  all  of  the  Princes  of  the  House 
of  Orange. 

In  the  great  tower  is  a  fine  set  of  bells,  played  by  "tam- 
bour," so  it  is  said.  I  did  not  hear  them,  however,  as  re- 
pairs were  under  way. 

Here  also  were  born  the  painters  Van  Mierevelt  and 
Jan  Vermeer.  "A  remarkable  town!  Is  this  not  so, 
Mynheer^"  asks  my  enthusiastic  Dutch  friend,  pausing 
for  breath,  and  eyeing  me  somewhat  anxiously.  *'Is  not 
Delft  a  most  remarkable  town^"  I  most  earnestly  as- 
sure him  that  it  is — ''A  most  remarkable  town  I" 

Here  was  built  an  exact  model  or  reproduction  of  the 
little  Haalve  Maan  (Half  Moon),  the  ship  in  which  the 
intrepid  English  mariner,  Hendrik  Hudson,  sailed  in 
quest  of  the  Northwest  passage,  discovering  the  noble 
river  which  is  now  named  in  his  honor.  This  little  ship 
sailed  across  the  ocean,  convoyed  by  a  Dutch  man-of-war, 
to  attend  the  ceremonies  incidental  in  New  York  to  the 
celebrating  of  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  dis- 
covery.    Thus  Holland  is  not  behind  in  honoring  the 

182 


BY  LAND  AND  SEA 

memory  of  the  Englishman,  whom  she  so  generously  rec- 
ognized and  supported  when  his  own  country  turned  its 
back  upon  him.  So  once  more,  the  Hudson  bore  upon  its 
bosom  the  Half -Moon,  but  this  time  it  cast  anchor  in  the 
shadow  of  the  mighty  piles  of  masonry  of  Manhattan. 
The  craft  represents  a  three-masted  vessel,  the  fore  and 
main  masts  are  rigged  with  yards,  the  mizzen  mast  with  a 
lateen  sail.  The  measurements  of  the  original  ship, 
which  were  found  in  the  archives  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany and  reproduced,  are:  Length  63  feet,  beam  17 
feet,  tonnage  89  tons.  The  armament  consists  of  four 
guns.  This  vessel  now  lies  at  a  dock  in  New  York  up 
near  the  Harlem  River  rotting  away  for  want  of  care. 


183 


^  Wi^t 


^f^HE  Hollander  takes  his  pleasures  very  seriously, 
AU  and  he  undoubtedly  thinks  himself  justified  in  so 
^■^  doing;  his  business  during  the  day  is  carried  on  in 
a  very  business-like  way,  but  when  he  goes  to  his  luncheon 
at  midday  he  foregathers  at  his  clubs  and  in  the  restau- 
rants with  a  great  show  of  leisure.  I  do  not  refer  now  to 
the  peasantry,  but  rather  to  the  better  class.  Although 
my  knowledge  of  the  Dutch  language  is  rather  elemen- 
tary, as  necessarily  a  foreigner's  must  be,  from  the  charac- 
ter of  the  tongue,  which  is  most  difficult,  I  have  witnessed 
what  must  be  characterized  as  very  good  performances  at 
the  play-houses  in  Amsterdam,  which  were  certainly 
received  with  great  enthusiasm  by  the  audiences.  Con- 
siderable taste  is  manifested  in  the  theaters,  and  they 
seem  to  be  well  supported,  although  the  prices  are  rather 
high.  But  one  feature  is  missed,  and  agreeably  so :  the 
ticket  speculator.  This  individual  is  conspicuous  by  his 
absence. 

In  Amsterdam  are  the  "Stad  Schouwburg,"  devoted  to 
the  Dutch  drama  and  French  opera ;  the  Grand  Theater, 
the  Park  Schouwburg,  in  the  oriental  style  of  decoration 
and  given  up  to  the  spectacular;  the  "Frascati"  and  nu- 

184 


THE  THEATER 

merous  cafes  chantants.  In  these  last  smoking  and 
drinking  are  permitted.  The  large  theaters  are  closed  in 
the  summer,  as  the  better  classes  are  at  the  seaside  resorts, 
but  at  the  'Taleis  Voor  Volksvlijt,"  said  to  hold  12,000 
people,  there  are  occasional  concerts,  and  also  in  the  zo- 
ological gardens,  and  in  the  "Vondel  Park,"  or  at  the 
"Tolhuis,"  a  large  tea  garden  situated  on  the  farther  bank 
of  the  Y.  From  this  garden  is  a  fine  view  of  the  lighted 
city  at  night,  and  the  music  of  an  excellent  military  band 
may  be  enjoyed. 

In  the  curious  old  "Pyl-Steeg"  in  Amsterdam  there  is 
a  quaint  shop,  said  to  have  been  founded  in  1575,  to 
which  I  was  directed  by  my  Dutch  friend,  and  here  in  a 
tiny  damp  street,  where  I  could  actually  touch  the  houses 
on  either  hand,  I  found  a  thin,  dried-up  old  fellow  sitting 
behind  a  leaden-covered  counter  under  a  double  row  of 
fat,  wide,  high-waisted  black  bottles,  ranged  on  a  shelf 
above  his  head,  each  bottle  decorated  with  a  well-painted 
head,  or  a  scene  copied  from  one  of  Teniers'  pictures,  and 
not  too  badly  done,  either.  While  I  was  studying  these 
with  interest,  for  I  had  never  seen  so  many  of  them  at 
once,  the  bric-a-brac  shops  in  America  having  occasion- 
ally one  or  two  for  which  they  ask  very  large  prices,  my 
friend  gave  an  order  and  the  old  fellow,  seizing  one  of  the 
bottles  by  the  neck  with  a  deft  turn  of  his  wrist,  unerr- 
ingly ejected  a  gurgling  modicum  of  the  contents  into 
each  glass  before  him.     These  glasses  are  very  flat,  some- 

185 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

thing  like  a  morning-glory  cup  with  long,  thin  stem, 
and  they  hold  very  little.  The  act  was  done  with  such 
skill  that  I  expressed  my  surprise  that  he  did  not  spill  a 
drop,  and  when  this  was  explained  to  the  old  fellow  he 
seemed  much  pleased,  and  placing  some  fresh  glasses  be- 
fore him  repeated  the  feat  with  great  rapidity  for  my  en- 
tertainment. One  is  supposed  to  drink  the  bitters  with- 
out touching  the  hand  to  the  glass,  this  feat  being  per- 
formed by  stooping  over  the  glass  and  sipping  it  up,  after 
which  one  may  drain  the  glass  in  the  ordinary  way.  This 
was  my  introduction  to  the  celebrated  "Maag  Bitter" 
shop  where  the  Amsterdamer  has  taken  his  bitters  for 
years. 

The  stork  is  an  interesting  institution,  the  birds  being 
treated  with  great  and  singular  respect  in  the  Nether- 
lands. These  strange  birds  may  be  seen  here  and  there, 
almost  everywhere  in  the  south,  but  I  do  not  remember 
seeing  any  in  the  north.  The  house  selected  by  the  stork 
for  a  nesting  place  is  considered  fortunate,  and  very 
special  facilities  are  provided  by  the  householders  to  en- 
able it  to  build  a  nest  comfortably.  At  The  Hague  many 
of  these  birds  are  maintained  at  public  expense.  The 
first  that  I  saw  was  from  a  window  of  the  railway  train  as 
we  were  crossing  the  "Hollandsdiep,"  when  a  chimney- 
top  came  into  view  on  which  v/ere  two  of  the  long-legged 
creatures,  preening  themselves,  their  nest,  an  unsightly 
bundle  of  sticks  and  straw,  littering  the  house-top. 

186 


THE  THEATER 

The  tobacco  shops  in  the  towns  are  certainly  unique, 
the  Hollander  being  a  great  smoker.  The  shops  are 
very  frequent  in  the  large  cities,  and  the  merchant  has  a 
curious  way  of  piling  up  the  cigar  boxes  in  most  fan- 
tastic shapes  and  combinations,  both  in  the  window  and 
inside  the  shop,  so  that  one  sometimes  fears  lest  the  whole 
fabric  will  come  tumbling  down  about  his  ears.  Tobacco 
is  surprisingly  cheap  in  the  Netherlands,  cigars  ranging 
from  a  penny  (Dutch)  up.  After  a  long  experience  and 
a  considerable  expenditure,  I  discovered  that  as  a  rule  the 
penny  ones  are  almost  as  good  as  those  marked  twenty- 
five  cents. 

The  drug  stores  are  so  entirely  unlike  ours  that  they 
call  for  comment.  Over  the  door,  which  is  invariably 
kept  closed  and  is  quite  small  and  narrow,  suggesting 
sometimes  a  private  house,  hangs  a  painted  and  gilded 
wooden  head  usually  surmounted  by  a  turban.  This  is 
called  a  "Gaper."  Why,  I  cannot  discover.  The  heads 
are  of  various  styles  and  shapes;  some  are  black,  some  are 
red,  some  are  yellow,  as  of  the  negro  or  the  Chinaman,  but 
they  one  and  all  have  wide,  staring  eyes  and  huge,  red, 
open  mouths.  Coming  upon  one  suddenly  in  a  back 
street,  by  a  quiet  canal,  I  somewhat  timidly  turned  the 
handle  of  the  door — a  bell  on  a  spring  loudly  tinkled  as  I 
entered,  but  no  one  responded.  The  room,  a  small  one, 
with  sanded  floor,  was  permeated  by  the  odor  of  strange 
drugs  and  herbs;  bottles  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  bearing 

187 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

gilded  inscriptions  in  Latin,  were  closely  ranged  on 
shelves  all  about;  at  the  farther  end  was  a  high  coun- 
ter, on  which  were  more  bottles  and  several  fine,  brass- 
mounted  Delft  jars  with  their  peculiar  blue  decorations. 
The  floor  was  nicely  sanded  in  ornamental  figures.  I 
looked  in  vain  for  the  soda-water  fountain,  so  dear  to  our 
American  hearts,  for  the  candy  counter,  and  the  soap  and 
tooth  brushes.  I  found  them  not;  then  all  at  once  I  be- 
came aware  of  a  pair  of  bright  eyes  regarding  me  fixedly 
from  a  point  of  vantage  between  the  two  large,  brass- 
topped  Delft  jars.  Then  I  saw  the  face  of  a  young 
woman.  The  stare  which  she  bestowed  upon  me  was 
calm  and  very  disconcerting.  We  gazed  into  each  oth- 
er's eyes  for  several  moments,  and  then  I  became  very 
much  embarrassed.  I  coughed  nervously  behind  my 
hand.  "Jungjuffrow,"  I  began  haltingly.  "What  will 
mynheer  have^"  she  asked  composedly. 

True  enough,  thought  I — what  will  I  have '?  What  do 
apothecaries  have  to  sell?  Of  course — pills  I  Then 
said  I  aloud,  and  even  brilliantly,  'Tills!  jungjufFrow." 

"But  what  kind,  mynheer?"  said  she,  coming  from  be- 
hind the  counter. 

"Why,"  said  I,  with  great  inspiration  (I  could  not 
think  of  the  Dutch  word  at  the  moment),  ''large  pills, 
twenty-five  cents  worth";  at  which  she  looked  at  me  so 
strangely,  and  she  was  so  pretty  that  I  became  more  and 
more  disconcerted,  so  that  when  she  gave  them  to  me  I 

188 


THE  THEATER 

did  not  examine  them,  but  placing  a  coin  in  her  hand,  de- 
parted rather  hurriedly,  as  if  I  had  intruded,  and  when  I 
was  once  more  in  the  street  and  I  saw  the  water  of  the 
canal  I  went  over  very  quietly  and  dropped  the  box  of 
pills  into  it.  Glancing  back  over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  her 
watching  me  with  that  calm,  disconcerting  gaze,  and  I 
also  saw  in  the  other  windows  rows  of  other  faces,  both 
old  and  young,  likewise  regarding  me.  Then  my  eyes 
ranged  back  to  the  window  where  I  last  saw  the  face  of 
the  ''jungjuffrow."  She  lifted  her  hand,  pulling  the  cur- 
tain aside,  the  better  to  watch  me,  and  certainly  she  had 
reason  to  think  me  a  suspicious  character.     So  I  fled. 

The  steam  tramway  system  of  Holland  is  most  enter- 
taining. Often  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  wait  for  a 
tram  underneath  the  shelter  of  a  wayside  inn  and  watch 
its  meandering  approach  under  the  shady  boughs  of  the 
fine  trees,  watching  the  sunlight  and  shadow  play  upon 
it  as  it  bumped  and  puffed  along  the  quiet  street  with  its 
noisy  bell,  and  finally  to  swing  myself  aboard  with  a  nod 
of  greeting  to  the  uniformed  conductor,  who  takes  up  his 
fares  in  a  rattling  sort  of  tin  savings-bank  with  a  handle 
and  a  spout  which  he  thrusts  before  each  passenger  in 
turn.  One  who  loves  nature  and  his  fellow-beings  may 
enjoy  himself  to  the  full  on  one  of  these  trams.  If  the 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man  then  here  may  one  pass 
his  time  most  profitably.  Invariably  I  have  fallen  in  with 
some  good-humored  loquacious  peasant,  on  his  way  to  or 

189 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

from  market,  and  always  have  I  met  with  kindness  and 
consideration.  Traveling  in  this  way  is  cheap  and  most 
convenient.  And  the  landscape;  how  shall  I  describe  it^ 
The  meadows  with  fat  kine,  the  mills  of  a  hundred  varie- 
ties, the  villas  with  their  charming  grounds,  and  the  golf 
greens — it  will  surprise  you  to  know  that  golf  was  played 
by  the  Hollanders  long  before  it  had  yet  found  its  way 
into  England.  My  authority  is  found  in  many  of  the  old 
paintings  of  the  Netherlands  artists.  Of  course  in  late 
years  there  has  been  a  great  awakening  in  the  game,  and 
now  there  are  many  most  flourishing  clubs  throughout  the 
country.  A  most  charming  tram  ride  through  pic- 
turesque scenery  is  that  one  from  Amsterdam  to  Hil- 
versum  and  through  Laren,  lovely  Laren,  beloved  by  ar- 
tists, thence  to  Naarden  and  Muiden,  over  flat,  open 
meadows  dotted  with  jacketed  black  and  white  cows 
calmly  grazing  and  tended  by  solitary  peasants  clad  in 
pale  blue  blouses,  which  Mauve  loved  so  well  to  paint, 
and  who  gaze  at  the  passing  tram  stolidly.  Running  be- 
tween level  stretches  of  "mere"  and  'Tolder,"  and  finally 
into  a  sandy  country  where  sparse  firs  grow,  we  then  come 
upon  the  towers  of  Nijkerk,  Harderwijk,  Utrecht,  and 
Amersfoort.  Here,  as  I  have  said,  Mauve  painted  his 
masterpieces  in  both  oil  and  water  color — very  lovely 
transcripts  of  nature  they  are  too,  and  this  hallowed  spot 
is  venerated  by  a  colony  of  loyal  artists,  all  of  whom  are 

190 


THE  THEATER 

following  the  ways  of  the  master  and  continuing  his  pre- 
cepts. 

One  thing  that  impresses  one  strangely  is  the  scarcity 
of  men  and  boys  on  the  canals.  Women  and  girls  there 
are  aplenty  on  the  boats,  busily  polishing  and  scrubbing 
and  dipping  up  pails  of  water,  and  hanging  out  long  lines 
of  bright-colored  garments  to  dry,  and  generally  there  is 
an  excited  black  dog,  nervously  running  from  one  end 
of  the  dock  to  the  other,  scanning  suspiciously  the  surface 
of  the  water  and  all  passing  objects.  But  man  is  con- 
spicuous by  his  absence.  Whenever  he  is  present  he 
seems  to  be  at  his  ease,  lazily  sitting  on  the  ornamental 
tiller,  pipe  in  mouth  and  seemingly  lost  in  thought.  The 
Dutch  boat  is  immaculately  clean,  the  decks  are  spotless, 
and  wherever  there  is  a  bit  of  brass,  it  is  polished  to  the 
last  degree.  The  barges  are  invariably  named,  as  The 
Lion  of  Flanders^  or  The  Great  William^  or  The  Golden 
Sun.  The  Golden  Tulip  seems  to  be  the  favorite  name, 
and  the  long,  curved  tiller  of  the  rudder,  which  is  most 
wonderfully  carved,  varnished,  and  gilded,  is  further  en- 
riched as  a  rule  with  a  highly  impossible  crouching  lion. 
There  is  a  small  deck  house  in  the  after  part  of  the  barge, 
and  here  are  tiny,  deep,  curtained  windows,  in  which  are 
invariably  pots  of  blooming  tulips  or  geraniums.  De- 
scending to  the  interior,  there  are  generally  two  rooms ; 
the  first,  used  as  a  kitchen  and  dining-room,  has  a  shiny, 

191 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

black,  cast-iron  stove,  mounted  on  absurdly  high  legs  and 
lavishly  trimmed  with  brass,  fastened  in  a  box  of  sand. 
The  chimney  pipe  goes  up  through  the  roof,  and  where 
the  hole  pierces  the  ceiling  there  are  festoons  of  bright 
rosettes  of  paper  flowers.  On  the  walls  are  the  pots  and 
pans  of  brass  and  copper,  brightly  burnished,  and  two 
starlings  are  in  a  wicker  cage.  A  fat,  sleek  cat  is  gen- 
erally on  a  cushion  in  a  chair,  and  there  is  a  row  of  braided 
strings  of  onions  and  sausage  hanging  from  the  ceiling. 
The  floor  is  sanded  prettily.  There  is  usually  on  the 
wall  a  framed  picture  of  the  Queen  in  her  Friesland  head- 
dress, and  the  marriage  certificate  of  the  captain  and  his 
wife,  gorgeously  emblazoned.  In  the  other  small  room 
leading  off  from  this,  are  the  berths  of  the  captain,  his 
wife,  and  the  children.  Traveling  in  this  manner 
through  the  canals  one  sees  every  kind  of  fantastic  boat 
imaginable  in  a  long  line,  stretching  out  ahead  and 
astern.  Passing  into  the  rivers  and  hoisting  sail,  one 
overtakes  them  slowly  one  by  one,  saluting  the  lusty 
vrouws,  courteously,  and  throwing  an  apple  or  a  piece  of 
candy  to  the  children,  peering  out  of  the  doors  of  the 
deckhouses  or  lifting  aside  the  white  muslin  curtains  and 
flattening  their  little  noses  against  the  glass  to  gaze  at 
us.  Here  and  there  are  shining  beds  of  mud  in  the 
stream,  surrounded  by -curlews,  circling  gulls,  and  herons, 
all  seemingly  as  tame  as  barn-door  fowls.  As  I  have 
said,  some  of  the  boats  are  lavishly  painted,  and  the  water 

192 


ffigi-'^^^f^^^ggj'^i'fSf^i^j^ap.^^^^ 


Leeuwarden — The  Stern  of  a  River  Boat 


DAY 

bla( '  '-'^  ^>v  nV.iiiM'ilv  high  legs  and 

'  ..  box  of ^  sand. 

'  f,  and  where 
as  of  bright 


'■■ireaii'i,  aacuL 

all  seen  as  tai; 


sair! 


•  1  ■  '  r  1  1  .■ 


v%  ' : '  :  t.»i!.ci    >iiiaij   luuuJ 

1^  •  '  ')5  of  the  captain,  his 

V  ling    in    this    manner 

~d  of  fantastic  boat 

^      head  and 

isuiig  sail,  one 


it*(^W^^l^-w\o'ift4^t?i'^«\ 


J 


THE  THEATER 

barrels  on  their  decks  will  be  decorated  by  green  paint, 
polished  brass,  and  some  with  well  painted  landscapes, 
or  naval  battles,  or  bunches  of  flowers  upon  them.  The 
masts  of  the  vessel,  which  are  hinged  at  the  base  to  permit 
them  being  dropped  at  the  bridges,  will  often  be  set  off 
by  a  beautiful  piece  of  hammered  iron  work,  and  the 
brown  hulls  are  so  richly  varnished  that  one  may  almost 
see  one's  face  in  them.  This  procession  of  vessels,  wind- 
ing between  the  shoals  and  dykes,  with  swelling,  velvety, 
tanned  brown  sails  and  gaily  streaming  flags,  forms  a 
most  beautiful  picture  against  the  ever  changing  back- 
ground of  Dutch  landscape,  mottled  by  the  fleeting  shad- 
ows of  the  sun,  with  an  occasional  red  roof  or  mill  here 
and  there  among  the  rows  of  willows. 

It  was  in  early  June  that  I  first  traveled  through  the 
"Waterland,"  and  it  must  have  been  an  unusually  wet 
time.  Everywhere  the  meadows  seemed  flooded,  and 
there  were  long,  sad-looking  stretches  of  yellowish  water 
spread  over  the  landscape,  but  this  is  all  good  for  the 
country,  I  am  told,  although  dispiriting  to  the  traveler, 
who  is  forced  to  get  his  entertainment  at  the  wayside  inns. 
The  ordinary  Dutch  breakfast  at  these  waysides  is  very 
different  from  that  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  and  as  a 
rule  at  first  provokes  hilarity  among  Americans;  after- 
wards it  provokes  an  entirely  opposite  spirit.  Here  the 
guests  of  the  inn  will  sit  at  a  long  table,  covered  with 
an  array  of  dishes  containing  every  variety  of  cold  meat 

193 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

and  sausage,  various  kinds  of  bread  and  cake,  and  huge 
bowls  of  cold,  boiled  eggs.  Why  cold  eggs,  I  cannot  un- 
derstand, but  I  have  never  been  served  with  hot  ones,  ex- 
cepting upon  order  and  even  then  under  protest.  The 
peasant  is  a  great  eater,  and  one  marvels  at  the  quanti- 
ties of  sausage,  rolls,  veal,  and  ham,  with  great  piles  of 
ginger-bread  and  raw  onions,  which  he  consumes.  The 
peasant  will  take  a  hard-boiled  egg,  knock  it  on  the  table 
edge,  cut  it  with  a  knife,  peel  it,  dip  it  in  the  salt  bowl, 
and  put  the  whole  mass  into  his  mouth  at  once,  gazing  at 
one  with  his  watery  blue  eyes  as  he  slowly  masticates  it. 
I  saw  my  opposite  neighbor  eat  fourteen  in  this  way,  and 
he  then  sighed  and  told  me  he  wasn't  hungry.  I  have 
heard  tales  of  egg  competitions  among  the  villagers  at 
which  prodigious,  gastronomical  feats  are  performed,  but 
I  am  sorry  to  say  I  never  witnessed  one.  After  eating  the 
fourteen  eggs,  my  vis-a-vis  finished  his  light  breakfast 
with  a  huge  dish  of  honey,  which  he  ate  with  a  tablespoon. 
I  could  stand  no  more,  so  I  left  the  room. 

On  the  way  through  the  country,  the  traveler  on  foot 
will  find  the  farmers  and  their  wives  most  kindly  and 
hospitable.  In  nearly  every  case  one  will  be  asked  to  en- 
ter and  refreshments  will  be  set  out  on  the  table,  for 
which  pay  will  be  accepted  under  no  consideration. 
There  is  generally  a  treasure  chest  in  the  house,  the  con- 
tents of  which  will  be  gladly  displayed,  and  often  most 
delightful  bargains  may  be  had  in  the  most  out-of-the-way 

194 


THE  THEATER 

places.  It  was  an  opportunity  such  as  this  that  put  into 
my  hands,  at  a  moderate  price,  a  lovely  silver  headband. 
These  bands  are  worn  over  a  tight,  black  cap,  and  are 
from  two  to  three  inches  wide,  fitting  tightly  around  the 
skull  and  culminating  at  each  eye  with  a  little,  silver  or- 
nament called  a  "Hoofdijzer."  This  band  is  in  its  turn 
covered  by  a  white  muslin  cap,  but  not  always.  These 
charming  old  vrouws  are  often  very  generous.  I  remem- 
ber one  household  in  which  I  coveted  a  lovely  piece  of 
beaten  brass,  and  she  told  me  that  ''sometimes"  she  ex- 
changed her  old  pieces  for  new  ones,  and  I  promptly  went 
back  to  the  village  and  bought  a  new  brass  milk  can, 
with  which  I  returned.  She  seemed  incredulous  when 
I  asked  her  to  exchange  with  me  and  called  in  her  daugh- 
ters, who  stood  shyly  in  the  doorway,  their  beautiful  lace 
caps  clouding  their  pretty  faces,  as  they  regarded  me  with 
open-mouthed  amazement.  She  declared  that  she  could 
not  take  the  beautiful  new  brass  milk  can  from  me,  giving 
only  in  return  the  old  patched  kettle.  In  vain  I  at- 
tempted to  explain  to  her  that  the  old  one  was  what  I 
wanted,  and  that  the  new  ones  were  quite  useless  to  me, 
and  that  I  was  really  getting  the  best  of  the  bargain.  She 
waived  this  aside  unbelievingly,  and  insisted  upon  throw- 
ing in  two  lovely  pierced  brass  candlesticks  and  a  little 
walnut  foot-stove,  one  of  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen,  and 
even  then  she  said  that  her  neighbors  would  blame  her  for 
defrauding  me.     Dear  old  dame,  I  shall  never  forget 

195 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

you  I  I  have  heard  it  urged  that  the  Hollander  is  not 
partial  to  and  has  no  kindly  feelings  towards  the  paintei, 
but  I  have  not  experienced  this  myself.  I  have  every- 
where met  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  consideration. 
It  is  true  that  I  have  been  told  of  the  experience  of  an 
American  artist  at  Marken  who  was  stoned  for  making 
sketches  and  his  canvases  spoiled  by  sand  and  dirt  being 
thrown  upon  them.  If  such  happenings  are  true,  then  it 
must  have  been  the  fault  of  the  men  themselves.  The 
Markenites  are  very  religious  people,  and  one  should  be 
careful  not  to  offend  their  sensibilities.  They  keep  to  a 
very  strict  mode  of  Lutheranism,  and  some  of  them  really 
believe  that  the  making  of  pictures  is  a  violation  of  the 
iirst  commandment. 

I  remember  Whistler  getting  into  trouble  at  Dort. 
My  friend  Van  s'Gravesande,  the  noted  etcher,  and  I  had 
left  Whistler  in  the  morning,  as  he  said  he  wished  to  make 
a  little  sketch  in  a  neighboring  street.  Toward  noon  we 
thought  we  would  go  down  to  see  how  he  was  getting  on 
with  it,  and  as  we  turned  down  a  small  alleyway  leading 
to  a  canal,  we  saw  a  crowd  of  people  and  heard  many  an- 
gry, excited  voices.  It  was  Whistler,  of  course,  and  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  angry  fishwomen,  who  were 
threatening  to  throw  him  into  the  canal,  amid  all  of 
which  the  great  man  was  calmly  waving  his  little  brush  at 
the  excited  people.  Seizing  one  of  the  fishermen  by  the 
arm,  my  friend  demanded  in  Dutch  to  know  what  was  the 

196 


THE  THEATER 

trouble,  and  the  man  explained  to  him  volubly.  It 
seemed  that  Whistler  had  discovered  a  little  shop  near 
the  canal,  the  window  of  which  was  full  of  oranges  and 
lemons,  and  this,  with  the  green  paint  of  the  shutters  and 
the  brilliant  purple  sign-board,  formed  a  scheme  of  color 
which  he  was  unable  to  resist.  He,  however,  had  ob- 
jected to  the  arrangement  of  the  oranges  in  the  window, 
and  insisted  upon  changing  them  to  his  own  satisfaction, 
in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  shop-keeper.  When 
Whistler  had  almost  finished  his  picture,  a  very  small  one, 
by  the  way,  the  angry  shop-keeper  had  pulled  down  the 
curtain,  quite  spoiling  Whistler's  view,  and  he,  unable  to 
speak  Dutch,  had  insisted  in  English  that  the  curtain 
should  be  raised.  Alternately  then  the  curtain  went  up 
and  down,  and  finally  the  altercation  became  so  serious 
that  the  neighbors  took  part  in  it.  This  drew  the  boat- 
men from  the  canal,  and  soon  there  was  an  excited  mob, 
which  had  attracted  our  attention.  Van  s'Gravesande 
placed  himself  at  Whistler's  side  and,  facing  the  angry 
multitude,  explained  to  them  (in  Dutch)  that  this  was  a 
great  painter  who  was  a  stranger  among  them  and  knew 
nothing  of  their  manners  or  customs,  that  for  this  reason 
he  should  be  treated  with  great  courtesy,  and  that  he  was 
surprised  that  his  people  should  so  forget  themselves  as  to 
offer  violence  to  a  gentleman  and  a  stranger.  The  peo- 
ple seemed  ashamed  of  themselves  at  this  and  slunk 
away,  but  it  certainly  would  have  gone  hard  with  Whis- 

197 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

tier  had  he  not  arrived  so  opportunely.  Whistler,  how- 
ever, did  not  thank  him  in  words,  and  contented  him- 
self with  ejaculating  at  intervals,  "Amazing  I  Amaz- 
ingi" 

We  three  passed  many  delightful  days  together  ram- 
bling and  sketching  about  old  Dort,  and  these  experi- 
ences I  shall  take  pleasure  in  recording  later  on  in  an- 
other form,  but  I  must  say  here  that  I  look  back  upon 
these  days  as  among  the  happiest  I  spent  in  the  Nether- 
lands. 

The  population  of  a  Dutch  fishing-town  is  as  quaint 
as  the  vessels  and  the  charming,  old  gabled  houses.  The 
fishermen  have  a  character  all  their  own;  superb,  thick- 
set, well-fed  fellows  they  are.  Their  food  at  sea  is  not 
very  generous,  as  I  found  when  I  accompanied  them,  but 
there  is  always  in  the  forecastle  or  the  galley  a  steaming 
pot  of  coarse  fish  and  potatoes,  ready  at  hand  so  that  each 
may  help  himself  at  will.  They  are  hard  drinkers  too, 
for  when  I  asked  for  water,  I  was  handed  as  a  joke  a  cup 
full  of  pure  gin  by  the  grinning  "boy,"  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  skipper.  The  fishermen  are  the  flower  of  the 
race  for  strength  and  hardihood,  and  they  present  an  ad- 
mirable type.  While  they  are  peaceable  as  a  rule,  when 
it  comes  to  the  fight  they  can  hold  their  own.  Yes,  some 
of  them  are  bullies,  but  it  must  be  urged  that  their  sur- 
roundings are  not  such  as  to  breed  saints.  When  they  do 
take  to  religion,  however,  they  are  very  devout.     I  can 

198 


THE  THEATER 

describe  one  experience  with  a  fleet  in  the  North  Sea. 
We  were  after  the  herring,  and  our  little  craft  was  a 
mere  toy  compared  with  the  mighty  fishing  smacks  that 
sail  from  the  English  coast  towns.  It  was  evening  when 
we  stole  away  from  the  mouth  of  the  Y,  and  our  blunt- 
bowed  "tjalk"  with  its  brass-bound  boom  rippled  away 
the  surface  of  the  orange-colored  sea,  aflame  with  the  set- 
ting sun.  We  lay  about  quietly  until  dawn,  eagerly 
watching  until  we  saw  the  predatory  flock  of  gulls  rising 
and  diving  over  the  shoal.  There  is  no  child's  play  in 
the  herring  fishery.  The  boat  runs  out  with  her  nets 
coiled  amidship  and  heads  away  to  meet  the  innumerable 
schools  of  migrant  fish.  The  buoy  is  flung  over,  and 
then  the  net  is  "shot"  swiftly  by  the  fishermen,  until  the 
line  of  corks  winds  astern  for  many  a  yard  like  a  bobbing 
serpent  on  the  quiet  sea.  The  leaden  weights  sink  and 
the  snare  adjusts  itself;  now  comes  a  pause;  the  men  sit 
down  quietly  and  light  their  pipes ;  all  eyes  are  fixed  on 
the  water;  and  then  we  wait.  Of  a  sudden  in  the  dis- 
tance we  see  a  strange  disturbance  on  the  surface  of  the 
sea,  and  a  lambent,  greenish  light  appears  in  the  water. 
Then  the  gulls  begin  to  call  from  high  overhead.  A 
whispering,  popping  sound  fills  the  air  as  if  of  a 
thunder  shower,  but  it  is  the  noise  made  by  millions 
of  leaping  fish.  With  mysterious,  gliding,  sidelong 
movements  they  swim;  against  wind  or  tide  their 
progress  continues.     Now  they  are  heading  towards  us. 

199 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

A  buoy  rears  for  an  instant  and  then  plunges  under, 
then  under  goes  another;  a  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
follow  quickly;  and  the  lines  of  corks  are  sagging 
and  plunging  as  the  weight  of  the  fish  drags  them  down. 
We  are  watching  almost  breathlessly,  and  finally  the 
patroon  gives  the  word  and  the  first  buoy  is  pulled  in. 
Over  the  side  the  whole  sea  seems  to  be  a  vast  glow  of 
emerald  flame,  flashing  in  the  depths  and  outlining  the 
barrier  of  the  nets.  This  flame  seems  to  wind  among 
pale  sheets  of  snowy  foam.  Long  streaks  of  this  green 
flame  fringed  with  jewels  dart  away  from  the  meshes  of 
the  nets.  The  whispering  sound  that  I  described  before 
fills  the  ears,  and  the  fish  are  leaping  high  in  the  air. 
Now  the  heavy  nets  are  pulled  over  the  side,  the  men 
straining  heavily  while  their  muscles  dart  out  like  coils  of 
steel,  and  little  by  little,  the  fish  well  is  filled  with  a 
beautiful,  silvery  mass,  and  a  curious  shrill,  squeaking 
sound,  as  from  millions  of  mice,  comes  from  the  herring  as 
their  strained  air-bladders  burst.  Our  boat  sinks  low 
with  its  load  and  rises  and  falls  in  a  very  logy  fashion  at 
the  lunge  of  the  sea.  The  captain  says  we  cannot  stand 
another  hundredweight,  but  it  seems  too  bad  to  let  the 
school  go  by  and  escape.  So  we  watch  greedily  the  beau- 
tiful fish  leaping  and  glittering  in  the  morning  sun.  The 
sight  of  a  school  of  herring  in  the  sunlight  is  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  to  be  seen.  They  bound  up  into  the  air, 
out  of  the  water,  all  about  us,  but  the  slightest  move- 

2CX3 


In  a  North  Holland  Tower 


^1>.U1 


of  the  ne 


and   tit  til 


•d  before 


^mV\oYA  \Uvo/v  fe  «\ 


THE  THEATER 

ment  from  the  boat  will  cause  them  to  "sound;"  then  they 
will  rise  again  and  one  may  follow  them  for  miles  by 
the  ravenous  flock  of  gulls  which  hover  over  them.  We 
fall  in  with  other  boats  as  we  sail  for  the  shore  and  the 
skippers  compare  notes  in  gutturals.  A  most  pictur- 
esque sight  we  present  as  we  glide  in  squadron  toward 
the  jetty.  Most  picturesque,  too,  are  the  men  in  their 
heavy  boots  and  strange,  high-waisted  jackets;  brawny 
giants  all  of  them!  How  this  breed  of  men  came  to  be 
developed  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  physically  they  are 
certainly  the  finest  specimens  of  their  race.  The  pa- 
troon's  beard  is  sunny,  his  shoulders  are  as  broad  as  an 
athlete's;  he  is  like  a  mythical  figure,  such  as  Ericsson. 
He  makes  the  plank  creak  as  he  walks,  and  one  can  see 
that  he  is  all  bone  and  brawn.  You  cannot  forget  his 
glittering  steel-blue  eye,  nor  the  flash  of  his  white  teeth. 
There  are  scores  like  him  among  the  fishermen,  and  it  is 
such  men  as  he  that  make  the  fishing  ports  worth  visiting. 
One  afternoon  in  wandering  in  the  outskirts  of  Zwolle 
in  the  north  of  Holland,  I  was  attracted  to  a  little  hut 
in  the  wood.  'Twas  here  I  discovered  a  man  and  his 
wife  making  wooden  shoes.  I  watched  him  unobserved 
for  a  time.  He  had  sawed  the  wood  into  oblong  square 
shapes  and  they  were  piled  up  in  a  rude  sort  of- workshop, 
against  the  wall.  He  stood  at  a  rough  bench  and  with 
drawknife  he  fashioned  the  pieces  of  wood  into  shapes  of 
wooden  shoes.     I  could  not  but  admire  the  skill  with 

201 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

which  he  did  the  work.  His  wife,  near  by,  was  finish- 
ing the  shoes  with  a  small  sharp  knife,  and  a  row  of  the 
finished  product  was  neatly  arranged  on  a  bench  before 
her.  He  frowned  when  at  last  he  saw  me.  I  gave  him  a 
big,  fat  cigar,  and  this  quite  disarmed  him,  and  when  I 
produced  another  for  myself  and  sat  down  and  lighted  a 
match,  which  I  offered  him,  he  became  quite  friendly. 
The  Dutch  peasant's  way  of  being  friendly  is  to  ask  ques- 
tions. Was  I  German  or  English*?  Ah — American  I 
North  or  South'?  His  brother  was  in  Curagao,  at  Wil- 
lemstad.  He  was  engaged  in  the  dried-fish  business. 
Had  I  ever  been  in  Curagao?  Ah — New  York'?  He 
examined  me  through  a  cloud  of  smoke.  Were  my  shoes 
made  in  New  York '?  So — how  much  did  they  cost  ^  Ah 
— so"?  What  was  my  business*?  So*?  Did  I  make 
money  at  it?'  Was  I  married*?  How  old  was  I'?  How 
long  was  I  going  to  stay  in  Holland?  Upon  all  these 
points  I  satisfied  him. 

Then  my  turn  came  and  I  fired  the  questions  back  at 
him,  but  he  regarded  this  evidently  as  fair  play  and 
gravely  responded.  He  was  forty  years  of  age ;  he  had 
been  married  six  years ;  he  rented  the  house  that  he  lived 
in,  if  it  could  be  called  such;  yes,  that  was  his  wife  sitting 
over  there ;  yes,  those  were  his  three  children ;  yes,  it  was 
difficult  to  make  a  living ;  no,  he  could  not  make  a  gulden 
a  day  even  with  the  assistance  of  his  wife;  no,  they  did 
not  often  have  meat  to  eat;  they  lived  on  dried  fish,  pota- 

202 


THE  THEATER 

toes  and  beets;  yes,  they  grew  the  vegetables  themselves; 
no,  that  cow  was  not  theirs,  that  belonged  to  the  farmer, 
but  they  minded  it  while  it  grazed,  and  for  this  they  re- 
ceived one  quart  of  milk  per  day;  yes,  thank  God  I  the 
children  were  healthy;  no,  he  was  not  contented,  but  he 
was  not  unhappy;  he  feared  that  he  might  get  into  trouble 
because  he  was  a  drinking  man ;  no,  he  did  not  often  get 
drunk,  the  wife  didn't  like  it.  "Isn't  that  so,  vrouw?" 
he  said.  A  slow  smile  broke  over  her  not  uncomely  face, 
and  she  put  down  the  shoe  that  she  was  finishing  and, 
folding  the  blue  apron  about  her  hands,  she  said,  "Ja, 
mynheer."  I  don't  think  I  ever  had  more  satisfaction 
than  I  felt  as  the  round  pink  fist  of  the  baby  on  the 
earthen  floor  closed  over  the  gulden  that  I  put  into  it. 
The  wife's  ambition,  I  found,  was  to  have  a  coral  neck- 
lace! Verily,  women  are  the  same  the  world  over. 
They  were  living  in  bitter  poverty,  with  often  hardly 
enough  to  eat,  even  of  fish  and  potatoes;  there  was  not 
even  a  floor  under  their  feet,  and  their  furniture  con- 
sisted of  a  bed  built  into  the  wall  like  a  bunk,  a  heavy, 
bare  table  with  some  crockery  on  it,  two  wooden  benches 
on  either  side,  and  a  kerosene  lamp  hanging  from  the  ceil- 
ing, and  yet  her  longings  were  fixed  upon  a  red  coral  neck- 
lace which  would  cost  twenty  dollars,  our  money.  I 
often  think  of  these  poor  people  in  the  little  hut  in  that 
far-away  wood  and  the  longing  in  the  eyes  of  that  woman, 
and  I  hope  sincerely  that  somehow  she  got  her  necklace. 

203 


$^  %ii0 


^I^HE  Hague — Dutch,  "  's  Graven  Hage,  or  den 
lU  Haag" — L  e.,  the  "Count's  enclosure  or  hedge," 
^■^  has  been  for  centuries  the  favorite  residence  of  the 
Dutch  royal  family.  Formerly  the  political  capital  of 
the  States  General,  it  has  been  styled  the  largest  village 
in  Europe,  and  it  was  Louis  Bonaparte  who  conferred 
upon  it  the  privileges  of  a  town.  The  Mauritshuis,  the 
celebrated  picture  gallery;  the  Huis  ten  Bosch,  or  palace 
in  the  wood,  "one  of  the  most  beautifully  furnished  cha- 
teaus  in  the  world,"  an  authority  claims;  the  "Vijver," 
or  lake,  around  which  are  clustered  the  various  palaces; 
the  "Gevangenpoort,"  an  ancient  tower  and  historic 
prison;  the  municipal  museum,  and  next  to  the  "Rijks" 
the  finest  in  Holland;  the  "Mesdag"  museum,  and  Baron 
Steen  Gracht's  picture  gallery  are  the  principal  objects  of 
interest.  The  Hague  is  the  favorite  residence  of  the  be- 
loved Queen  of  Holland  and  the  court.  It  seems  im- 
maculately clean,  is  dignified  by  various  palatial  resi- 
dences and  stately  avenues  of  trees,  and  it  is  all  very 
charming  for  a  few  days,  but  after  one  has  seen  the  pic- 
tures one  would  better  pass  on  quickly,  for  here  the 
guilders  certainly  have  wings. 

204 


THE  HAGUE 

The  Queen  gave  her  consent  to  the  representatives  of 
the  Powers  interested  in  the  First  International  Peace 
Conference  to  hold  their  deliberations  in  the  Orange 
Room  of  the  "House  in  the  Wood."  It  was  here  that 
Motley  wrote  much  of  the  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Dutch 
Republic."  (This  room  is  preserved  with  its  furniture 
exactly,  so  the  custode  claims,  as  it  was  when  Motley 
occupied  it.)  Most  people  must  have  read  that  delight- 
ful Roundabout  Paper  of  Thackeray's,  entitled  "Notes 
of  a  Week's  Holiday."  Holland  seems  to  have  de- 
lighted the  great  novelist,  for  he  alludes  to  "the  vast 
green  flats,  speckled  by  spotted  cows  and  bounded  by  a 
gay  frontier  of  windmills,"  and  where  the  only  bitterness 
in  his  cup  was  the  "florin"  which  was  charged  at  his  hotel 
for  a  bottle  of  pale  ale  I  He  calls  The  Hague  "the  pret- 
tiest little  brick  city,  with  the  pleasantest  park  to  ride  in, 
the  neatest,  most  comfortable  people  walking  about,  the 
canals  not  unsweet,  and  busy  and  picturesque  with  old- 
world  life."  Wherever  he  went  he  was  bubbling  over 
with  enjoyment.  There  certainly  seem  to  be  more  gaiety 
and  life  here  than  in  any  other  town  in  the  Netherlands. 
One  misses  the  business  activity  of  Amsterdam,  but  there 
is  certainly  none  of  the  sleepiness  of  the  other  towns. 
One  sees  in  the  streets  well-equipped  carriages,  magnifi- 
cent high  powered  automobiles  nearly  as  large  as  Pull- 
man coaches,  bearing  conspicuous  coats-of-arms,  and 
seemingly  having  space  in  the  limousine  for  eight  or  ten 

205 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

people.  These  machines  are  most  luxuriously  uphol- 
stered, as  one  may  imagine,  and  carry  two  or  three  men- 
servants,  including  the  chauffeur.  There  are  crowds  of 
well-dressed  people  strolling  about  and  the  shops  vie 
with  those  of  Paris. 

Though  The  Hague  lacks  the  distinctive  character  of 
the  other  Dutch  cities,  yet  it  is  the  most  cosmopolitan 
of  them  all,  and  many  most  distinguished  people  have 
.lived  here.  It  has  been  the  political  capital  of  Hol- 
land since  the  sixteenth  century.  The  great  interest,  of 
course,  centers  in  the  'Talace  in  the  Wood"  [Huis  ten 
Bosch],  which,  though  small,  is  most  picturesque.  It 
was  erected  in  1645  for  Princess  Amalia  of  Solms,  consort 
of  Prince  Frederick  Henry,  son  of  Henry  the  Silent. 
After  his  death,  the  Princess  prepared  the  Orange  Room 
as  a  memorial  to  him,  and  the  walls  are  covered  with 
paintings  in  his  honor,  all  recording  his  victories  on  the 
battlefield.  Nine  of  the  most  eminent  painters  of  the 
day  labored  here  for  four  years  upon  these  paintings. 
The  Queen's  dining-room  has  a  beautiful  ceiling  in  relief, 
and  there  are  four  remarkable  Brisaille  paintings  by  De 
Witt.  The  Chinese  Room  contains  eighteenth-century 
wall  decorations  upon  rice  paper,  and  the  furniture  is  a 
gift  from  the  Chinese  Emperor.  There  is  also  a  Japanese 
Room,  presented  to  the  nation  by  the  Emperor  of  Japan 
in  1795.  The  curious  chandelier  hanging  from  the  ceil- 
ing is  entirely  made  up  of  cups  and  saucers.     I  did  not 

206 


THE  HAGUE 

see  the  boudoir,  which,  to  my  great  regret,  was  closed. 
The  private  sitting-room  seems  a  little  too  crowded  for 
comfort;  it  is  literally  filled  with  treasures. 

In  the  "Mauritshuis"  is  a  fine  collection  of  paintings 
formed  originally  by  the  Princes  of  Orange-Nassau  and 
the  "Stadhouder,"  William  V.  There  may  be  studied, 
among  other  notable  works,  the  paintings  of  Rembrandt, 
such  as  the  "Lesson  in  Anatomy,"  "The  Officer's  Por- 
trait" and  "Simon  in  the  Temple."  There  are  many 
examples  of  Jan  Vermeer  of  Delft,  Franz  Hals,  Gerard 
Dou,  Franz  Van  Meiris  the  Younger,  Paul  Potter,  Jan 
Steen,  and  fine  pictures  by  Rubens,  Van  Dyck  and  Hol- 
bein. 

The  Communal  Museum  (Gemeente  Museum)  is  com- 
paratively unknown  to  travelers,  but  is  of  great  impor- 
tance, containing  as  it  does  many  admirable  paintings  of 
the  Dutch  School,  such  as  for  instance  "The  Arque- 
busiers"  of  Jan  Van  Ravesteyn,  and  the  greatest  of  the 
works  of  Van  Goyen  (purchased  by  the  Municipal  Coun- 
cil for  the  sum  of  6oo  florins  I ) .  There  is  also  here  the 
little  known  "Porte  Drapeau"  of  Gerritz  Van  der  Maes. 

The  modern  painter  Mesdag  during  his  lifetime  gave 
to  the  museum  a  very  rich  and  singularly  complete  col- 
lection of  modern  paintings  which  further  enriches  the 
treasures  of  the  town.  The  Bibliotheque  Royale  is  in  a 
building  erected  in  the  early  eighteenth  century,  which 
has  a  remarkable  staircase  in  the  Dutch  style.     The 

207 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

library  contains  not  less  than  half  a  million  volumes  (so 
the  attendant  informed  me  with  rounded  eyes  and  ele- 
vated eyebrows) . 

On  the  first  floor  I  found  a  rare  collection  of  miniatures 
of  the  eighteenth  century — very  good  ones,  and  the  cus- 
todian told  me  that  cases  in  another  room  contained 
"forty  thousand  medals  and  coins,  all  relating  to  Hol- 
land," but  I  did  not  examine  them,  to  his  great  disap- 
pointment and  contempt.  The  "Gevangenpoort"  is  an- 
other interesting  museum,  wherein  in  olden  times  politi- 
cal prisoners  were  incarcerated,  and  where  the  brothers 
De  Witt  were  murdered,  the  most  atrocious  crime  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  A  remarkable  collection  of  in- 
struments of  torture  is  shown  in  one  of- the  rooms.  The 
"Binnenhof,"  dating  from  the  year  1250,  was  originally 
a  "Palace  of  the  Counts,"  and  formed  the  foundation  of 
The  Hague.  Since  its  erection  it  has  been  without  inter- 
ruption, it  is  said,  the  residence  of  the  Princes  of  Hol- 
land. 

It  is  in  the  "Salle  Historique"  of  the  chevaliers  that 
Her  Majesty  Wilhelmina  presides  over  the  solemn  open- 
ing of  the  "States  General,"  and  there  she  reads  the 
messages  from  the  throne. 

My  Dutch  friend  describes  the  Palace  Royal  "as  no 
great  thing"  but  points  out  that  it  was  built  in  1535,  but 
"much  changed  since"  and  is  now  occupied  by  Her  Maj- 
esty Queen  Wilhelmina  and  Prince  Henry,  her  Consort. 

208 


THE  HAGUE 

As  an  example  of  architecture  the  church  of  St.  Jacques 
on  the  Spui  is  infinitely  more  interesting  because  of  its 
roof,  which  is  independent  of  a  column,  and  for  the  tombs 
of  the  brothers  De  Witt  and  the  philosopher  Spinoza. 
The  great  Gothic  church,  with  its  "sexagonal"  high 
tower,  possesses  a  carillon  of  thirty-eight  bells  of  remark- 
ably sweet  tone,  which  is  now,  since  the  destruction  of 
the  chimes  of  Malines  and  other  Flemish  cities,  probably 
the  finest  in  the  low  countries.  There  is  afso  some  fine 
old  painted  glass  here,  and  a  most  curious  pulpit  of  carved 
wood,  dated  1550.  Quite  notable  also  are  the  painted 
shields  of  the  chevaliers  of  the  "Toison  d'Or,"  suspended 
in  the  choir. 

The  great  Palace  of  Peace  for  the  International  Court 
of  Arbitration  is  on  the  so  called  "Benoordenhoutsche 
Polder."  The  Dutch  people  seem  inordinately  proud  of 
this  building,  which  architecturally  is  a  curiosity,  built  of 
brick  and  set  off  by  white  marble  trimmings  in  the  Dutch 
style. 

The  loyalty  and  devotion  of  the  Dutch  people  to  their 
Queen  is  proverbial,  and  it  is  a  charming  sight  to  see  the 
stolid  faces  light  up  as  the  Queen  drives  by. 

The  temptation  in  writing  of  a  strange  country  seen 
superficially  only,  as  a  foreign  country  must  necessarily 
be  seen,  is  to  generalize  and  to  strain  facts  to  suit  the 
writer's  classifications;  and  it  will  be  admitted,  I  think, 
that  Holland  has  suffered  more  than  perhaps  any  other 

209 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

country  from  exaggeration.  So  many  absurd  things  have 
been  written  and  printed  about  the  Queen  and  the  Court 
that  I  should  like,  were  space  accorded  me,  to  correct  some 
of  the  absurdities.  As  a  rule,  when  reading  accounts 
concerning  the  Queen  in  the  newspapers,  one  may  take 
the  statements  with  a  grain  of  salt.  In  truth,  the  Queen 
is  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character  and  purpose, 
and  her  shrewdness  in  dealing  with  affairs  of  great  mo- 
ment concerning  the  welfare  of  the  Netherlands  is  well 
known  to  her  ministers.  She  has  great  personal  charm 
of  manner,  is  of  the  kindliest  possible  disposition,  and 
her  charities  are  known  to  be  boundless.  Of  course  her 
privy  purse  is  very  large,  but  the  demands  upon  it,  like- 
wise, it  is  said,  are  enormous.  There  were  great  mis- 
givings among  the  people  upon  the  announcement  of  her 
betrothal  to  Prince  Henry,  for  it  must  be  recorded  that 
the  Hollander  does  not  like  the  German,  for  obvious 
reasons,  and  the  German  in  turn  affects  to  have  merely  a 
tolerant  feeling  for  him.  The  Hollander  somehow  felt 
that  in  this  alliance  by  marriage  with  Germany  lurked 
certain  mysterious  dangers,  so  he  regarded  the  Consort 
somewhat  suspiciously,  although  outwardly  he  is  always 
most  respectful  in  his  attitude  toward  him.  The  Queen 
is  regarded  as  the  embodiment  of  the  House  of  Orange, 
and  this  feeling  is  quite  apart  from  their  affection  for  her 
and  their  delight  in  her  grace  and  beauty.  They  claim 
that  Holland  is  not  now,  and  never  will  be,  less  of  a 

210 


THE  HAGUE 

Republic  than  she  ever  was,  but  they  see  in  the  distance 
the  shadow  of  coming  events  which  point  perhaps  to  their 
annihilation  as  a  kingdom.  But  we  need  not  dwell  upon 
this  fact,  for  her  throne  is  occupied  by  an  altogether  satis- 
factory ruler,  who  is  held  in  affectionate  esteem  and 
whose  heart  is  their  heart,  the  Queen  of  the  House  of 
Orange. 

I  am  indebted  to  a  most  delightful  old  Dutch  lady  at 
The  Hague  for  the  following  account  of  the  youth  and 
education  of  the  Queen:  "At  The  Hague,  Wilhel- 
mina's  life,  under  the  careful  direction  of  the  Queen 
Regent,  did  not  differ  in  any  great  degree  from  the  life 
of  any  other  well-born  Dutch  girl.  Her  principal  in- 
structor was  her  mother,  and  her  tuition  in  the  ordinary 
studies  and  the  languages  was  divided  among  a  number 
of  carefully  selected  instructors,  who  were  strictly 
charged  to  treat  her  exactly  as  they  would  any  other  well- 
born school  girl.  She  was  not  even  to  be  addressed  as 
'Your  Royal  Highness,'  or  even  as  Princess,  during 
school  hours.  So  it  was  that  she  was  educated  under  the 
watchful  eyes  of  the  Queen  Regent.  But  while  her  edu- 
cation was  strict,  her  childhood  was  made  happy,  and  she 
was  never  permitted  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  she  was 
destined  to  rule  as  Queen  of  the  Netherlands.  Reared 
in  the  atmosphere  of  good  Dutch  democracy,  she  was  even 
allowed  the  privilege  of  playing  with  other  children. 

''One  winter  day  as  the  Queen  Regent  with  her  little 

211 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

daughter  was  driving  in  her  sleigh,  they  came  upon  a 
group  of  children  merrily  snowballing  one  another.  The 
Princess  asked  her  mother  if  she  might  not  join  them,  and 
permission  being  given,  the  royal  sleigh  stood  for  half  an 
hour  while  the  future  Queen  of  the  Netherlands  was  bois- 
terously snowballed  and  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  snow- 
balling her  happy  subjects." 

The  Queen,  when  a  young  girl,  delighted  on  occasions 
in  wearing  the  quaint  headdress  of  the  Province  of  Fries- 
land,  and  the  costume  was  certainly  most  becoming  to 
her,  judging  by  the  photographs. 

Mile.  Liotard  was,  I  am  informed,  Wilhelmina's  first 
governess,  and  until  the  age  of  four  she  spoke  invariably 
in  French.  After  this,  she  was  instructed  in  other  lan- 
guages, but  never  in  the  German  tongue,  her  father,  it  is 
said,  having  an  abhorrence  of  all  things  German.  Her 
Majesty's  next  teacher  was  Miss  Winter,  an  English 
lady,  who  superintended  her  education  henceforth.  It 
was  she  who,  to  punish  the  young  Princess,  ordered  her 
to  draw  a  map  of  Europe.  Wilhelmina  obeyed,  and 
when  the  map  was  completed  it  was  found  that  Holland 
extended  into  the  German  Ocean,  outclassing  Prussia  in 
size,  while  Great  Britain  was  shown  by  a  small  black 
speck,  in  the  midst  a  yellow  splotch  marked  "London 
fog."  Nevertheless,  Her  Majesty  has  a  great  admira- 
tion for  England,  and,  I  am  told,  thinks  the  United 
States  of  America  of  great  interest,  especially  since  the 

212 


H.  M.  JVilhelmina,  Queen  of  the  Netherlands 


daughter 

groun  of 


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hev  came  upon  a 

i.nother.     The 

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•  •  •• 


THE  HAGUE 

Spanish  war.  She  is  a  great  student  of  nations,  and  has 
strong  ideas  and  convictions  regarding  matters  of  inter- 
national import,  and  her  mind  once  made  up  cannot 
easily  be  influenced.  Her  Majesty  is  now  a  fair-haired, 
beautiful  woman  of  robust  health  and  a  great  preponder- 
ance of  animal  spirits. 

The  saying,  "The  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules  the 
world,"  was  never  better  exemplified  than  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  throne  of  the  Nether- 
lands. The  people  of  the  Low  Countries  waited  with 
breathless  anxiety  for  the  auspicious  event.  It  is  not 
only  a  testimony  of  the  loyalty  and  affection  with  which 
the  Dutch  people  regards  its  queen,  but  is  a  proof  of  the 
jealousy  with  which  it  guards  its  independence.  Queen 
Wilhelmina  was  the  last  of  the  line  of  Orange-Nassau. 
If  she  failed  to  have  an  heir  the  succession  became  one  of 
the  most  open  in  Europe.  Open,  that  is  to  say,  with  re- 
gard to  the  number  of  possible  candidates;  as  to  the 
nationality,  the  choice  was  limited,  as  only  the  claims  of 
German  princes  could  then  be  taken  into  consideration. 
None,  however,  was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  settle  the  rival 
claims  beyond  all  dispute.  In  any  other  constitutional 
country  this  might  have  been  a  matter  of  secondary  im- 
portance, but  in  the  case  of  Holland  matters  are  different. 
Her  privileged  geographical  position,  with  a  splendid 
coast  line  and  many  natural  harbors,  has  exposed  her  to 
international  jealousies.     Of  all  the  great  powers  of 

213 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

Europe — Russia  excepted — Germany  was  the  one  with 
the  most  unfavorable  coast  line.  Barring  Hamburg,  and 
perhaps  Dantzig  and  Stettin,  she  has  no  natural  harbors. 
Kiel  and  Wilhelmshaven  are  purely  artificial  ports, 
where  the  art  of  the  modern  Vauban  has  come  to  the  aid 
of  nature.  They  do  not  count  for  commercial  purposes. 
For  half  a  century  Germany  has,  therefore,  cast  envious 
eyes  on  Holland.  The  presence  of  a  German  prince  on 
the  throne  would  be  the  first  step  toward  preponderance, 
if  not  toward  annexation.  The  possession  of  the  Nether- 
lands, however,  would  undoubtedly  disturb  the  balance 
of  maritime  power.  Although  three  centuries  have 
elapsed.  Great  Britain  has  not  forgotten  that  the  guns  of 
Van  Ruyter's  fleet  once  woke  the  echoes  of  the  Thames 
and  that  Tromp  sailed  the  Channel  with  a  broom  at  his 
masthead  as  a  sign  that  he  had  swept  the  English  from  the 
sea.  The  birth  of  a  Dutch  heir  to  the  throne  put  an 
end  to  international  jealousies.  This  fact  undoubtedly 
doubled  the  warmth  and  cordiality  with  which  Europe 
congratulated  Queen  Wilhelmina. 

While  unostentatious.  Queen  Wilhelmina  is  insistent 
upon  Court  form  to  the  last  degree  in  her  intercourse  with 
the  representatives  of  foreign  governments.  Upon  the 
convocation  of  the  Dutch  Parliament  the  Queen  rides  to 
the  ceremony  in  a  great  gilded  coach  ornamented  with 
golden  lions,  and  drawn  by  fat  white  horses  in  magnifi- 
cent trappings,  preceded  by  a  company  of  Lancers  of  the 

214 


THE  HAGUE 

Royal  Guard.  She  reads  her  speech  from  the  throne  in 
a  clear  penetrating  voice,  and  her  language  is  said  to  be 
both  clear  in  meaning  and  marked  by  great  earnestness  of 
delivery.  On  Sundays  the  Queen,  the  Consort  Prince 
Henry,  and  the  Princess  Juliana,  provided  the  weather 
is  fine,  may  be  seen  walking  to  church  like  any  other  well- 
to-do  Dutch  family.  The  Prince  Consort  is  a  rather 
tall,  soldierly  looking  man,  inclined  somewhat  to  stout- 
ness, and  wearing  a  spade  shaped  beard  in  the  Dutch 
mode.  He  invariably  dresses  in  uniform,  and  walks 
in  a  stiff  military  fashion,  looking  neither  to  right  nor 
left,  but  returning  salutes  most  punctiliously. 

The  Queen  smiles  and  bows  most  graciously  to  the 
people,  and  converses  animatedly  with  the  two  ladies  in 
waiting  who  accompany  her  and  Princess  Juliana.  Since 
her  marriage,  the  Queen  inclines  somewhat  to  stoutness 
and  has  almost  lost  the  girlish  graceful  lines  which  so 
charmed  every  one  at  the  time  of  her  coronation.  Prin- 
cess Juliana  is  a  lovely  little  creature,  inheriting  from  her 
mother  the  amiable  qualities  which  so  endeared  her  to  the 
Dutch  people,  and  the  affection  between  mother  and 
daughter  is  said  to  be  delightful  to  behold.  It  is  the 
subject  of  conversation  at  afternoon  teas,  and  gatherings 
in  those  charming  Dutch  drawing-rooms  on  the  "Singel" 
over  the  trays  of  priceless  India  porcelains  and  shining 
hand-wrought  silver,  presided  over  by  noble  ladies,  in 
lace  and  velvet  whose  placid  waxen  faces  recall  the 

215 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

paintings  of  Franz  Hals.  And  likewise  in  the  no  less 
delightful  "Kamers"  of  the  Stadthouders,  and  the  far  dis- 
tant farmsteads  of  the  "Beemster,"  Juliana  is  the  joy  and 
the  pride  of  the  Netherlands. 

The  visitor  to  the  Netherlands  must  not  be  misled  as 
to  the  character  of  the  upper  classes  or  judge  them  in  any 
way  by  those  whom  he  meets  in  the  hotels  or  conveyances. 
The  Dutch  gentleman  and  lady  are  far  removed  from 
these.  Do  not  believe  either  that  they  find  their  pleas- 
ures in  the  grosser  comforts,  for  they  are  highly  educated 
and  their  manners  are  those  of  the  upper  classes  of  the 
English.  The  young  men  are  always  sent  to  the  uni- 
versity, where  their  education  is  carefully  looked  after, 
and  the  young  girls  are  most  highly  accomplished,  with  a 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  art  and  music  and  generally 
speaking  French,  Italian,  and  English.  There  is  much 
driving,  and  afternoon  calls  are  general.  In  the  evening 
at  the  club  the  gentlemen  congregate  for  an  hour  or  so 
before  dinner,  at  which  the  "Borreltje"  or  gin  and  bitters 
is  in  evidence.  As  a  rule,  dinner  is  served  any  time 
between  six  and  half-past  seven,  and  this  is  a  very  formal 
occasion,  although  the  menu  is  quite  simple.  The  people 
are  well  dressed,  generally  after  the  English  fashion.  In 
manner  they  are  most  kindly  and  they  delight  in  pretty 
speeches.  Breakfast,  as  a  rule,  at  this  house  which  I  have 
in  mind,  and  which  will  answer  as  a  specimen,  is  gener- 
ally ready  at  eight  o'clock,  but  oftentimes  the  table  is 

216 


THE  HAGUE 

kept  in  order  and  ready  until  ten  for  the  young  men  who 
may  have  been  out  for  an  early  morning  ride  on  the  dunes. 
This  is  an  easy  matter,  for  a  mahogany  bucket  lined  with 
metal  and  containing  peat  embers,  in  which  a  brass  kettle 
is  kept  singing,  is  always  placed  beside  every  Dutch 
breakfast  table;  it  appears,  too,  at  five  o'clock  teas,  as 
well  as  after  dinner  in  the  drawing-room.  This  kettle- 
bucket  in  Holland  is  very  characteristic.  At  breakfast 
one  eats  lightly,  as  a  rule,  bread  and  butter  with  a  thin 
slice  of  gingerbread,  making  a  sandwich  (Boterham  in 
Dutch) .  There  are  tea  and  coffee,  and  eggs  are  boiled, 
generally  in  an  old-fashioned  net  on  a  ring,  which  is 
dipped  into  the  kettle.  Everybody  is  welcomed  with 
bon  jour^  and  people  take  their  seats  without  further 
ceremony.  The  mail  is  brought  to  the  table  by  the  butler 
and  distributed,  and  there  will  be  English  papers  of  the 
sporting  order  at  hand.  After  breakfast  the  women 
gather  in  the  garden  to  cull  the  roses,  or  do  fancy-work 
in  the  arbors,  embowered  in  the  trees.  The  garden  is  a 
pretty  place  with  rustic  bridge  over  a  water  trench,  green 
with  duckweed  and  shaded  by  willows,  and  down  in  the 
hollow  lies  a  pond  full  of  water  lilies,  where  perhaps  a 
swan  or  two  will  be  swimming.  After  luncheon  there 
will  be  driving  along  the  brick-paved  road,  shaded  by 
trees,  past  smiling  cottages  and  country-seats,  while  the 
bright,  little  villas,  seldom  far  apart,  are  seen  along  the 
road  behind  beautiful  green  lawns.     After  the  heat  of 

217 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

the  afternoon  five  o'clock  tea  is  fashionable,  and  the 
young  men  drive  off  to  the  club  for  an  hour  before 
dinner. 

People  generally  ask  what  sort  of  food  is  served  at 
dinner.  Well,  we  will  have  as  genuine  Dutch  dishes, 
potato  puree  or  bouillon  flavored  with  chervil,  and  con- 
taining balls  of  veal  force  meat,  and  there  will  be  water 
bass  from  the  canal,  which  are  about  the  size  of  our  trout 
and  are  served  up  in  a  deep  dish  in  the  water  in  which 
they  are  boiled,  and  parsley-flavored.  This  is  served 
with  very  thin  sandwiches  of  rye  bread.  Next  comes, 
generally,  roast  or  stewed  veal,  mutton  being  so  poor 
that  it  is  rarely  eaten.  The  vegetables  are  potatoes  with 
butter,  boiled  endives,  and  bread-crumbed  cabbage. 
Then  there  will  be  partridge,  or  some  other  game,  wild 
duck  being  plentiful  in  season,  sometimes  the  young  men 
coming  in  after  dawn  with  a  fine  bag.  The  dessert  is 
mostly  French  bon-bons  or  tarts,  but  sometimes  English 
jam  is  served.  Dessert  over,  both  ladies  and  gentlemen 
return  together  to  the  drawing-room  for  coffee,  which  is 
served  in  the  smallest  and  most  precious  of  blue  china, 
which  is  generally  kept  behind  cabinet  doors.  Then 
come  liqueurs,  cognac  and  aniseed,  this  latter  being  the 
favorite.  During  the  evening  callers  are  entertained, 
after  which  tea  is  served,  the  mahogany  peat  bucket  and 
its  kettle  having  been  placed  by  the  footman  as  usual 
beside  the  table. 

218 


THE  HAGUE 

I  may  mention  that  there  are  but  three  classes  of  nobil- 
ity in  Holland,  the  "Jonkheer,"  the  "Baron,"  and  the 
highest,  "Count."  The  Dutch  are  very  simple  as  to  their 
titles,  which  are  rarely  used  in  good  society,  as  every  one 
knows  they  are  Barons  or  Counts,  so  it  would  be  thought 
snobbish  or  bad  form  so  to  address  them.  Servants  or 
strangers  may  sometimes  use  the  title,  but  more  often  they 
will  only  say.  Mynheer.  Of  course  the  peasantry  use  the 
titles  in  speaking  among  themselves,  but  only  to  this 
extent. 

After  tea,  the  lady  of  the  house  always  washes  her  own 
tea  cups,  never  trusting  them  to  the  servants.  This 
washing  of  the  cups  is  one  of  the  good  old  customs,  and 
as  these  porcelain  cups  are  worth  from  five  to  fifteen 
dollars  apiece  there  is  a  reason  for  it.  Another  strange 
custom  is  the  visit  of  the  "Aanspreker."  I  saw  this  curi- 
ous figure  passing  swiftly  along  the  path  dressed  in 
funeral  black,  wearing  a  three-cornered  hat  with  a  long 
streamer  floating  behind  over  his  coat,  which  was  flapping 
in  the  wind.  On  his  feet  were  silver-buckled  shoes,  and 
it  was  explained  to  me  that  it  is  his  duty  to  make  the 
rounds  of  the  neighborhood  announcing  deaths.  An- 
other strange  old  custom  is  that  wherever  lie  mother  and 
a  new-born  babe  there  shall  be  fastened  to  the  door  a 
huge  ornament,  called  a  "Klopper."  My  Dutch  friend 
brought  forth  one  which  had  been  used  in  the  family.  It 
was  a  large  square  of  lace  bearing  in  the  center  a  finely 

219 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

embroidered  coat-of-arms,  and  he  told  me  that  the  lace 
was  the  finest  old  "Mechlin."  It  was  lined  with  white, 
for  it  announced  the  birth  of  a  girl,  that  for  a  boy  being 
one-half  pink.  These  "Kloppers"  are  eagerly  sought 
for  as  souvenirs,  so  I  am  told. 

While  the  Dutch  use  their  own  language  almost  invari- 
ably, they  will  as  often  speak  in  French.  All  social  invi- 
tations are  written  in  the  latter  tongue,  and  sometimes 
the  most  familiar  correspondence.  As  to  English,  it  too 
is  quite  generally  used,  and  I  remember  meeting  few 
Hollanders  who  did  not  have  at  least  a  slight  speaking 
acquaintance  with  it. 

On  Sunday  morning  it  is  customary  to  attend  church. 
The  church,  except  those  in  the  large  towns,  is  small, 
whitewashed,  and  sadly  bare.  The  ladies  sit  on  chairs 
in  the  middle  of  the  house,  the  men  occupying  places  by 
themselves  at  one  side.  There  will  be  a  hymn  or  two 
with  some  good  music  on  the  organ,  a  very  long  prayer 
by  the  minister,  who  is  gowned  in  black,  and  then  a  still 
longer  sermon,  followed  by  a  collection  in  which  two 
black  bags  with  long  tassels  attached  to  the  ends  of  long 
poles  are  passed  around  by  the  ''beadles."  On  one  of  the 
bags  is  written  "Eglise,"  that  is  for  the  church;  the  other 
is  for  the  poor.  The  service  is  melancholy  and  depress- 
ing to  a  foreigner,  but  the  people  are  sincere  and  very 
devout. 

After  luncheon  and  the  siesta,  the  carriage  is  ordered 

220 


THE  HAGUE 

• 

for  the  afternoon  drive  over  the  beautiful,  level  roads 
and  through  the  rich,  wooded  spaces  of  the  outskirts, 
passing  the  lovely  villas  and  crowds  of  peasantry  quietly 
walking  by  the  roadside.  There  is  much  driving,  and 
beautiful  equipages.  The  peasantry  are  out  in  the  gala 
costume,  for  this  is  their  great  day,  and  in  strange  dog- 
carts, drawn  by  huge,  ill-looking  animals,  quite  filled 
with  stout  peasants,  who  seem  to  be  a  tremendous  load 
for  the  unfortunate  animals.  Then  we  pass  a  regiment 
of  soldiers  in  slouchy  infantry  uniform — ^blue,  with  yel- 
low worsted  facings  and  tassels — carrying  strange-look- 
ing knapsacks  and  wearing  singular  pointed  caps.  They 
are  not  well  set  up,  and  seem  to  be  small  of  stature,  and 
their  uniform  certainly  is  not  becoming. 

Being  a  stranger,  I  am  to  visit  a  farm-house,  and  we 
soon  stop  before  a  prosperous-looking  house  at  the  end  of 
a  brick-paved  walk.  There  are  many  cooing  pigeons 
about,  and  I  soon  discover  that  all  the  buildings  of  this 
farm  are  practically  under  the  one  roof.  Here  are  the 
dwelling-house,  the  dairy,  the  cow-house,  and  various 
other  departments.  A  clean,  orderly  row  of  wooden 
shoes  stands  outside  the  door,  which  opens  on  a  clean, 
freshly  painted  passageway  paved  with  red  brick,  where 
we  are  welcomed  by  the  wife  of  the  farmer  and  ushered 
into  the  sitting-room.  I  note  that  she  is  in  her  stocking 
feet.  The  parlor  is  gay  with  strips  of  bright  carpet,  and 
there  is  a  shining  mahogany  table  in  the  center.     We  are 

221 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

served  with  ill-tasting  home-made  pear  wine  sweetened 
to  taste  with  powdered  sugar,  which  politeness  forces  us 
to  drink,  and  the  household  treasures  are  brought  forth 
from  a  huge,  carved  "armoire" — the  family  Bible  with  its 
silver  clasps,  grandmother's  holiday  gowns,  some  antique 
headdresses,  and  a  fine  collection  of  beautiful  old  carved 
and  beaten  silver  spoons,  which  are  greatly  admired. 
We  are  then  taken  to  the  dairy  with  its  long  clean  wooden 
tables  filled  with  green  and  orange  stone  crocks  of  milk, 
prints  of  butter  in  wooden  bowls,  and  several  loaves  of 
large,  fresh  cheeses,  made  by  the  farmer's  wife  and 
daughters.  Opening  a  door  we  are  ushered  into  the  cow- 
house, which  is  four  steps  below  the  level  of  the  kitchen. 
This  is  an  immense  room  with  the  roof  far  above  our 
heads,  with  a  footway  of  red  tiles  down  the  middle;  on 
one  hand  are  piled  large  clean  cheese  presses,  above  which 
are  hanging  long  lines  of  copper  pans,  brightly  scoured 
brass  cheese  scoops,  candlesticks,  and  various  wooden 
implements  used  in  preparing  cheese  and  butter.  Down 
another  passageway  leading  off  we  see  the  cow-stalls, 
and  here  all  is  as  clean  as  the  parlor  itself.  Here  in 
winter  some  sixty  cows  are  under  cover,  and  each  cow- 
stall  is  carefully  laid  with  sand,  which  is  marked  out  in 
ornamental  patterns.  There  is  a  small  stream  of  water 
running  through  the  center  of  this  passageway  to  carry 
away  the  offal.  The  cheese  is  made  on  a  raised  platform 
at  the  side  of  this  cow-shed,  and  the  farmer  describes  the 

222 


.«'- ■!>-•<.  i;>:»i- 


A  Dutch  Boer 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

■er "cd  with  jll-tasting  home-made  j)ear  wine  sweetened 

wdcrcd  sugar,  which  politeness  forces  us 

Ad  treasures  are  brought  fortli 

lily  Bible  with  it 

mt  antique 

old  carved 


ps  be  of  the  kitchen. 

the  root  far  abov( 

tiles  down  the  middle 

eese  presses,  above  which 

ans,  brightly  scoured 

•us  wooden 

Down 


awav  heese  i 


at  shed,  and  the  farmer  describe 


THE  HAGUE 

operation,  which  is  technically  too  intricate  for  me  to 
understand.  I  may  say  that  there  is  not  a  particle  of 
odor  in  this  building,  everything  being  of  immaculate 
cleanliness. 

As  we  drove  home  the  band  was  playing  in  the  open 
space  and  the  peasants  were  enjoying  themselves  hugely 
at  various  small  tables  under  the  trees,  drinking  a  queer 
black  liquid,  which  it  was  explained  to  me  is  made  of  gin 
and  black  currants.  On  the  way  home  we  drew  to  one 
side  to  let  a  wedding  party  pass.  There  were  several 
kinds  of  carriages,  one  in  particular  being  called  a  "Jan- 
plaisir."  This  seemed  big  enough  to  hold  an  army,  with 
open  sides  and  blinds  which  roll  up  and  down,  and  drawn 
by  six  horses.  There  was  much  shouting  and  cheering 
as  the  gay  procession  passed  by,  the  cart  at  the  head  being 
the  old-fashioned  kind,  not  unlike  a  circus  wagon,  set 
high  in  the  air  on  its  large  wheels,  the  body  carved  and 
gilded  and  painted  with  pictures  in  bright  colors.  Then 
we  stopped  at  a  drawbridge  which  was  pulled  up  to 
allow  some  river  craft  to  pass,  and  finally  we  came  to 
our  journey's  end. 

On  the  whole,  then,  living  in  the  Netherlands  is  most 
comfortable  and  there  is  much  good  cheer,  and  it  would 
seem  true,  as  the  Dutch  affirm,  that  social  life  in  the 
Netherlands  is  purer  and  happier  than  that  of  any  other 
people.  This  may  be  a  sweeping  assertion  on  their  part, 
but  they  certainly  do  seem  happy  and  contented  I 

223 


aN  the  foregoing  chapters  I  have  only  lightly  touched 
upon  this  most  interesting,  perhaps,  of  any  of  the 
provinces.  Leaving  Edam  by  a  puffing,  wheezy 
train  one  can  journey  leisurely  to  Kwadijk,  stopping  for 
luncheon  as  I  did,  and  then  on  to  Enkhuizen,  once  per- 
haps the  most  prosperous  town  in  the  Netherlands,  but 
now  indeed  a  "dead  city."  Paul  Potter,  the  painter,  was 
born  here  in  1625.  Approaching  by  train  one  sees  little 
of  interest — some  housetops  showing  above  the  green 
dyke — ^but  from  the  sea  the  visitor  sees  it  at  its  best  and 
most  striking  aspect,  with  the  great  Drommedaris  Tower, 
a  most  splendid  relic  of  the  now  vanished  fortifications  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  standing  guard  over  the  tiny  harbor 
and  scattered  collection  of  red-roofed  houses.  One  sees 
it  against  the  sky,  topped  by  a  white-painted  lantern  or 
cupola  containing  a  gilded  clock-face,  its  dark-red  brick 
walls  pierced  by  quaint  pointed  shuttered  windows  in 
white  frames  and  backed  by  a  dense  fringe  of  trees,  over 
which  appears  the  church  spire  at  the  right.  There  is  a 
lock  in  the  canal  beside  it,  crossed  by  a  quaint  old  lift- 
bridge  or  "wip,"  on  which  as  I  came  up  were  ranged  as 
many  children  as  it  would  accommodate,  all  fringed  on 

224 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

the  railing  and  staring  down  into  the  canal.  I  never 
discovered  what  it  was  they  were  watching.  A  high- 
waisted,  silk-hatted  man  in  a  brilliant  red  waistcoat, 
armed  with  a  stick,  descended  upon  them,  and  with  blows 
and  much  vituperation  drove  them  away  down  the  street. 
I  found  clean  accommodations  in  the  little  hotel  called 
"De  Port  Van  Cleve,"  and  there  fell  in  with  a  young 
schoolmaster,  who  invited  me  to  join  him  in  a  glass  of 
port,  which  was  very  good,  too,  by  the  way,  and  informed 
me  almost  at  the  same  breath  that  he  was  studying  to  be  a 
burgomaster,  and  would  like  to  converse  with  me  in 
English,  which  he  proceeded  to  do  with  the  help  of  a 
dictionary,  which  of  course  rendered  our  conversation 
necessarily  slow  and  rudimentary,  but  he  was  a  nice  fel- 
low indeed,  and  when,  in  his  thin,  high-pitched  voice,  he 
invited  himself  to  accompany  me  through  Friesland,  and 
offered  to  pay  his  own  way,  I  welcomed  him  cordially. 
He  proved  to  be  a  "character,"  and  as  I  had  brought  some 
cigars  with  me  from  Amsterdam,  the  evening  passed 
pleasantly  enough — that  is  to  say,  with  the  aid  of  the 
dictionary. 

The  steamer  left  the  following  morning — Sunday — 
for  Stavoren.  A  good  little  boat  it  was  but  dirty,  low 
in  the  water,  painted  black,  and  burning  a  villainous  kind 
of  soft  coal  in  briquettes  which  blew  over  and  smutted 
everybody  and  everything  on  board,  and  it  was  quite  in 
vain  that  we  moved  about  with  the  shifting  wind.     It 

225 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

takes  about  one  hour  and  a  half  to  cross  the  Zuyderzee 
here,  where  it  closes  in  and  forms  a  sort  of  neck,  which  it 
is  proposed  to  "dam"  one  of  these  days,  as  I  have  said 
elsewhere,  and  reclaim  the  whole  of  the  vast  area  lying  to 
the  south.  Even  now  the  water  is  so  shallow  here  that 
this  little,  almost  flat-bottomed  steamer  is  forced  to  make 
long  detours  to  avoid  the  sandbars.  The  water  was  very 
calm,  and  as  it  was  Sunday  few  sails  were  visible  on  the 
expanse.  On  the  way  my  new  friend,  the  embryo 
Burgomaster  gave  me  much  otherwise  ungetatable  infor- 
mation concerning  the  Frieslanders,  and  much  more  as 
we  entered  the  small  harbor  of  Stavoren,  and  I  never 
knew  a  man  to  consume  cigars  as  he  could.  He  literally 
ate  them  as  he  talked,  but  I  had  plenty,  happily,  costing 
but  one  cent  each,  and  not  bad  at  that  price,  as  might  be 
surmised.  I  learned  among  other  quaint  customs  that  it 
was  usual  here  in  the  north  at  the  birth  of  a  boy  for  all  the 
women  to  visit  the  mother  and  drink  a  bowl  of  "Brande- 
wyn"  to  her  health  and  honor;  the  size  of  the  bowl  was 
not  specified;  that  each  woman  presents  a  sort  of  tart  or 
pie,  which  is  displayed  in  the  room — the  more  pies  the 
greater  the  honor — and  when,  later  on,  the  new-born  is 
taken  to  church  many  small  girls  of  twelve  or  fifteen  years 
volunteer  their  services  in  carrying  him  by  turn.  The 
father  then  presents  the  child  for  baptism,  never  the 
mother,  and  much  more,  which  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  have 
forgotten.     Stavoren  is  interesting  from  the  water.     The 

226 


Enkhuizen — The  Drommedaris  Tower 


'*  ''■^'^■"'M^M-W^ 


rnl-^-<  -boij 


)AY 

•t  of  neck. 

as  I  \ 


kne^ 


;iq  rh;ir  i 


I  auicr 


•\%o?oT  ih^Vi^wwoSli  ^A'T — w^sJuA^wA 


•  ••.*•     • 
•    ••/••     • 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

roofs  of  the  houses  are  red-tiled,  and  the  houses  them- 
selves are  never  of  more  than  two  stories;  they  are 
all  quaintly  step-gabled  and  tree-embowered.  Queer- 
shaped  boats  are  drawn  up  before  them  in  the  canal,  and 
on  their  bows  are  painted  in  white  letters  S  T  (Stavoren) . 
The  bodies  of  these  boats  are  not  painted,  but  tarred  or 
pitched,  and  the  result  is  certainly  beautiful.  My  friend 
hailed  a  nice,  prosperous-looking  Hollander  on  the  quay 
as  we  landed  and  introduced  me  with  many  gesticula- 
tions as  a  personage  from  Americanewyork,  all  in  one 
word,  and  I  must  record  the  delightful  cordiality 
with  which  I  was  greeted,  which,  indeed,  generally 
was  the  case  throughout  the  Netherlands.  Mr.  Bes- 
sema  immediately  asked  us  both  to  his  house  for  sup- 
per, and  followed  by  two  boys  who  shouldered  our 
baggage,  we  were  presently  shown  through  a  large  tiled 
kitchen  lined  with  brass  and  copper  and  furnished  with 
fine  old  furniture;  down  dark,  mysteriously  dim  pas- 
sages, painted  or  whitewashed  blue,  to  the  parlor,  where 
we  were  at  once  presented  to  Mevrouwe  Bessema,  a 
delightful-looking,  waxen-complexioned  lady  wearing 
the  Friesian  headdress,  a  cap  of  solid  gold  divided  at  the 
front,  with  projecting  flaps  of  gold  be  jeweled  above  the 
ears.  My  lady  Bessema  was  rather  chilling  to  me  at 
first,  but  I  noted  that  my  friend  was  lavish  with  his  "Asher 
blifft,"  so  I  followed  suit,  and  found  this  a  most  excel- 
lent expression  to  fill  out  a  sentence.     Soon  supper  was 

227 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

announced  by  a  bare-armed,  lovely  young  Friesienne 
in  a  shining  gold  casque,  and  we  sat  down  to  a  rather 
formal  and  bare  table.  Tea  was  passed  around  from  a 
sort  of  samovar  and  sheep's  milk  poured  with  it.  I  was 
a  little  afraid  of  it,  but  it  tasted  sweet  and  good.  There 
was  much  conversation  between  the  host  and  my  friend 
concerning  the  price  of  mutton  and  beets,  during  which  I 
covertly  observed  the  tiled  walls,  the  mahogany  ward- 
robe, and  the  exquisite  gilt  Friesland  clock  over  the  man- 
telpiece. After  supper  our  host  would  not  hear  of  our 
leaving  his  house,  so  we  thankfully  remained  until  the 
following  morning.  The  ladies  retiring,  we  sat  up 
rather  late  smoking  and  talking  of  the  changes  in  Hol- 
land and  the  march  of  improvements,  and  before  we  went 
to  bed  Heer  Bessema  brought  forth  three  bottles  of  Bass's 
ale,  in  which  we  drank  his  health.  Mevrouwe  Bessema 
and  Mejuffrow,  her  daughter,  we  did  not  see  again  that 
night;  and  I  slept  in  a  great  high  bedstead  under  a  thick 
feather  thing  like  a  mattress,  in  a  pretty  and  clean  room 
under  the  eaves,  until — bang  I  on  the  door,  and  a  silvery 
voice  outside  calling  out,  "Het  waater,  mynheer  I"  I 
caught  only  a  brief  glimpse  of  this  young  damsel  before 
I  left,  peeping  shyly  at  me  from  behind  a  door.  I  sup- 
pose it  is  not  etiquette  for  a  girl  to  speak  to  a  stranger  in 
the  Netherlands,  but  at  any  rate  I  did  not  see  her  to  say 
farewell  and  I  quite  forgot  to  ask  my  friend  as  to  this  fact. 
Evidently  our  presence  had  become  known  through 

228 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

the  village,  for  an  army  of  children  escorted  us  to  the  boat 
at  the  quay  which  was  to  take  us  onward.  The  curiosity 
of  the  Dutch  child  is  unequaled,  most  embarrassing,  and 
eventually  becomes  an  intolerable  nuisance.  They  will 
stand  for  hours  staring  at  one  unwinkingly,  and  nothing 
seems  to  disconcert  them.  I  have  had  them  four  deep 
about  me  while  I  was  painting,  and  it  took  every  effort  to 
make  them  understand  that  I  desired  to  see  what  I  was 
painting  before  me,  and  that  I  could  not  see  through 
them.  One  remedy  I  found  generally  efficacious :  to  pick 
out  the  largest  and  most  ill-favored  of  the  lot  of  boys,  and 
giving  him  the  sight  of  a  gulden,  promise  to  present  it  to 
him  if  he  cleared  the  way.  It  was  amusing,  though,  to 
see  the  throng  which  escorted  us  to  the  boat  on  this  morn- 
ing, and  we  left  with  a  cheery  adieu  from  Heer  Bessema 
and  the  populace  upon  the  bank. 

The  first  village  was  Heeg,  not  very  quaint  or  un- 
usual, and  so  we  concluded  not  to  stop.  The  houses 
are  neat  (netje)  and  surrounded  by  a  kind  of  trellis  of 
vines,  which  gives  a  pretty  effect.  Connecting  each 
house  with  the  roadway  is  a  small  brightly  painted, 
high-railed  wooden  bridge  over  a  narrow  and  somewhat 
"smelly"  canal.  Here  I  first  noted  the  "floating  shop" 
or  barge  in  the  canal.  The  boat  was  not  a  large  one,  but 
it  was  brightly  painted  and  on  the  high  rudder-post  was  a 
large  gilt  lion  of  carved  wood.  The  cabin  windows  were 
brightly  decked  out  with  colored  paper  cut  in  forms,  and 

229 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

modern  crockery  decorated  in  bright  colors;  huge  fringes 
of  new  brooms  were  stacked  on  deck,  and,  alas  I  there  was 
much  tinware  instead  of  the  beautiful  brass  and  copper 
of  old.  All  the  merchandise  was  of  the  cheapest  sort,  and 
I  found  that  these  wary  merchants  will  always  endeavor 
to  trade  the  tins  and  ornaments  for  anything  that  the 
peasants  may  have  in  their  homes.  These  dealers,  gen- 
erally Hebrews,  have  well  nigh  cleared  the  vicinity  of 
the  antiques  once  to  be  found.  Everywhere  on  the  canal 
and  its  banks  is  color — red,  yellow,  white,  and  green — 
and  the  women  and  girls  seem  to  be  washing,  washing 
eternally,  and,  indeed,  nearly  all  the  domestic  secrets  are 
frankly  carried  on  in  full  view  of  the  passer-by.  The 
brightly  painted  and  varnished  boats  are  hung  from  stem 
to  stern  with  long  festoons  of  garments  flapping  in  the 
wind,  while  the  captain  or  patroon  or  his  sons  pole  the 
boat  along,  bent  over  at  an  angle,  the  pole  at  the  shoul- 
der, pushing  at  the  bottom  of  the  shallow  canal.  Some- 
times the  boat-vrouwe  will  handle  the  tiller,  while  an 
excited  and  nervous  dog  runs  from  end  to  end  of  the  boat. 
Either  bank  is  lined  with  a  row  of  thin  lime  trees  shading 
a  clean  brick-paved  pathway  and  an  almost  continuous 
row  of  klinker-built,  red-tiled  roofed  houses  with  white 
casements.  All  is  tiny,  toy-box  like  and  unreal  to  the 
last  degree,  and  all  shining  in  the  translucent  light  of  the 
moist  sky  and  reflected  in  the  water,  flowers,  trees,  houses, 
boats,  each  with  its  own  note  of  color  value,  and  all  inde- 

230 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

scribably  attractive  to  the  artist.  We  pass  through  a 
curious  bridge  called,  my  friend  explains,  a  wip.  This 
is  arranged  so  that  by  means  of  a  counterbalance  on  one 
end  it  may  be  tilted  up  to  let  the  boats  pass.  It  is  painted 
a  bright  pea-green. 

I  had  always  wanted  to  see  Ijilst  since  I  read  Me. 
Doughty's  description  in  "Friesland  Meres."  He  says, 
"Nothing  odder,  more  bizarre  than  this  village  have  I 
ever  seen ;  more  Chinese  than  European  looking  with  its 
jumble  of  bright  colors,  fantastic  forms,  and  squeezed-up 
populousness!"  And  now  there  it  is  just  ahead  of  us 
under  the  trees,  truly,  as  he  says,  "more  bizarre."  The 
usual  fringe  of  children  are  awaiting  us  and  hail  us  with 
delight  as  we  "tie  up,"  falling  in  behind  in  solid  phalanx 
when  we  step  ashore.  I  never  saw  the  equal  of  this  town 
for  quaintness,  and  my  friend  tells  me  that  elsewhere  it 
does  not  exist.  The  main  street  is  lined  with  immacu- 
lately clean  houses,  each  with  its  garden,  and  it  is  these 
gardens  which  attract  one.  There  are  miniature  lakes 
and  boats  on  them ;  there  are  chicken-pens  and  dog-houses, 
miniature  replicas  of  the  owner's  house,  all  painted  and 
complete  with  brass-handled  doors,  curtained  windows, 
glazed  panes,  and  imitation  brick  chimneys,  with  tiny 
gardens  before  each  containing  still  smaller  chicken- 
houses  and  dog-pens,  and  so  on  down  the  scale,  and  all 
quite  unbelievable.  But  it  was  at  Sneek  (pronounced 
Snake)  that  my  friend  decided  to  put  up  at  night,  so  we 

231 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

pushed  on  and  found  it,  as  promised,  most  delightfully 
quaint  in  the  evening  light,  with  two  well-paved  ways  of 
red  brick  set  in  pattern  on  either  side  of  a  rather  odorous 
canal,  but  with  lovely  rows  of  trimmed  lime  trees  shading 
the  houses  and  shops  and  reflected  in  the  canal.  The 
hotel,  a  good  one  [Stad  Munster],  nestles  behind  a  sort  of 
screen  of  lime  leaves  most  curiously  fashioned  by  cutting 
and  trimming  the  tree,  I  never  saw  anything  like  it 
before  or  since.  There  is  a  wonderful  old  "stadhuis" 
dated  1614,  in  the  very  purest  Renaissance  style — said  to 
be  the  finest  in  Friesland,  but  this  I  thought  to  be  an  exag- 
geration. Here  the  Sneeker  Mere  is  five  miles  long  and 
is  a  fine  stretch  of  water  upon  which  the  regattas  take 
place.  We  were  just  too  late  to  see  the  fun,  but  we  saw 
the  bunting,  the  crowds  on  the  banks,  the  tjalks  and 
boiers^  steam  launches  and  barges,  and  a  lavishly  deco- 
rated steamer  towing  the  winning  boat  all  covered  with 
flags,  with  a  lot  of  well-dressed  ladies  and  gentlemen  on 
board  and  a  band  playing  the  national  air,  white  sails, 
yellow  and  brown  sails,  flags  and  black  smoke,  all  in  the 
last  rays  of  the  sunshine.  We  slept  little  that  night  for 
the  noise  and  confusion  in  the  streets  and  the  hotel,  where 
it  seemed  to  me  the  whole  population  of  11,500  were 
gathered  the  whole  night  long,  but  it  was  all  most  inter- 
esting and  well  worth  while. 

My  Dutch  friend  seemed  to  be  acquiring  a  wonderful 
stock  of  English  phrases,  some  of  which  were  sufficiently 

232 


3  ■^"'^^^%. 


Near  Ijilst — A  Typical  North  Holland  Windmill 


_"'t>"" 


0-DAY 

>mised,  most  delightfully 
.  f  vv^i  well-paved  ways  of 


W 

. X.-,  fi,  .ad 

id  a  kivibiixy  ucco 
_  ^!i  .-r^-^refj  with 

'  ■" on 


icriui 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

ludicrous;  for  instance,  he  insisted  upon  ending  almost 
every  sentence  by  adding  ''Iss  it  not?  yes?'*  the  words  all 
run  together  rapidly,  and  this  became  so  wearing  on  my 
nerves  that  I  at  length  begged  him  to  omit  it.  He  did  so, 
but  I  could  see  that  he  was  discouraged,  so  I  essayed  to 
put  him  in  good  humor  by  teaching  him  the  words  of  a 
current  American  comic  song,  in  which,  alas  I  he  became 
only  too  proficient. 

And  then  he  woke  me  up  in  the  night  to  listen  to  an 
idea  that  had  suddenly  occurred  to  him.  "Listen,"  he 
said;  'Vhen  you  geef  a  thing,  you  cannot  to  keep  him, 
iss  it  not?"  "Yes,"  said  I.  "But  when  a  man  geef  hees 
vord,  he  keep  him,  iss  it  not'?"  "Yes,"  I  answered  sleep- 
ily. "But  when  hees  geef  hees  vord,  'ow  can  hee  keep 
him?  Does  he  get  him  back?"  "No,"  said  I.  "But  if 
he  keeps  hees  vord,  he  does  not  geef  him?"  "Oh,  yes, 
he  does,"  said  I,  now  aroused.  "Ah,  I  zink  I  zee.  Ven 
he  geef  hees  vord,  and  he  don't  take  heem  back — 'ee 
keep  him  all  ze  vile,  iss  it  not?  I  zee!  But  Heer 
Gott — vat  a  language  iss  ze  EngelschI"  .  .  . 

The  leisurely  wheezy  locomotive  of  the  tram  dragged 
us  along  through  a  sodden  country,  for  it  had  come  on  to 
rain  during  the  night,  and  the  carriage  reeked  with  the 
wet  clothing  of  three  stolid  peasants,  who  smoked  most 
villainous  tobacco,  whispered  to  each  other  hoarsely,  re- 
garding us  the  while  suspiciously,  and  who  to  our  relief 
alighted  at  the  first  stopping  place,  which  was  a  sort  of  a 

233 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

crossroad  halfway  between  Ijilst  and  Nijhuizum.  It 
now  rained  furiously  and  in  torrents,  and  the  clouds  were 
as  black  as  they  well  could  be,  while  the  thunder  roared 
seemingly  all  about  us,  so  low  hung  the  clouds.  Sheets 
of  water  drenched  the  windows  of  the  carriage,  which 
rocked  from  side  to  side  in  the  violence  of  the  wind. 
Then  all  at  once  the  sun  broke  forth  over  the  Mere,  and 
the  long  lines  of  waterways  leading  horizonward  shone 
like  ribbons  of  gold  embossed  in  green  velvet,  and  as  we 
slowed  up  at  the  small  brick  station  where  we  alighted 
for  Workum,  all  was  clean  and  washed  brightly  by  the 
rain.  Workum  has  the  usual  one  long  street  lined  with 
the  customary  small  houses  of  klinker  brick,  two-storied 
and  gabled  generally  toward  the  street.  It  is  paved  with 
rough,  round  stones,  kept  clean,  and  was  formerly  the  bed 
of  a  canal  with  a  narrow  path  on  either  hand,  brick  paved. 
It  is  shaded  with  well-kept  trees,  and  quite  picturesque 
and  paintable,  especially  as  all  is  dominated  by  the  im- 
mense square  tower  of  the  church,  which  is  visible  for 
miles  around.  In  the  square  is  a  beautifully  propor- 
tioned small  building  called  the  *'Oude  Wache"  (Old 
Weighhouse) ,  on  the  front  of  which  is  an  illuminated 
coat  of  arms  in  now  faded  colors,  supported  by  two  com- 
ical lions,  and  surmounting  a  panel  with  an  inscription 
half  obliterated,  which  I  tried  in  vain  to  read;  the  whole 
resting  on  a  winged  head,  such  as  one  sees  on  old  tombs. 
We  were  escorted  to  the  hotel  by  a  band  of  urchins  armed 

234 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

with  long  poles,  who  varied  the  attentions  bestowed  upon 
us  by  skillfully  vaulting  with  them  every  ditch  they  came 
to,  and  we  found  that  this  is  a  custom  here. 

At  the  hotel  my  Dutch  friend  promised  me  a  taste  of  a 
most  celebrated  dainty,  the  merits  of  which  he  extolled 
with  uplifted  hands  and  eyes.  It  is  called  Soetkrahelin- 
gen,  and  is  a  sort  of  pastry,  served  and  eaten  with  cheese; 
with  this  was  served  a  very  good  port  wine  at  ten  cents 
a  glass  (our  money) .  I  thought  it  not  bad,  and  ate  it  to 
the  manifest  pleasure  of  my  companion.  After  dinner, 
which  was  served  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  Dutch  style, 
and  a  smoke  in  the  general  room,  where  two  vehement 
young  men  played  a  very  poor  game  of  billiards,  we  or- 
dered a  horse  and  conveyance  for  the  four-mile  or  so  drive 
to  Hindeloopen  (the  name  means  stag-hunt),  which  is 
styled  the  most  unique  town  in  North  Holland.  Our 
journey  was  undertaken  in  a  quaint  Noah's  Ark  of  a  con- 
veyance which  had  seen  its  best  days  years  ago,  and  the 
horses  that  drew  it  were  evidently  of  the  same  period. 
Our  route  lay  along  the  top  of  the  long  dyke,  with  the 
sight  and  smell  of  the  sea  ever  present,  and  I  saw  flocks 
of  tarn  and  other  birds  flying  overhead.  Occasionally 
we  were  held  up  by  gates  where  we  had  to  pay  toll  to  the 
squalid-looking  beings  in  charge.  The  ride  across  the 
flat  green  polder  meadows  was  somewhat  dispiriting,  I 
thought,  but  I  saw  many  opportunities  for  pictures  and 
the  driver  was  loquacious.     He  wore  a  beautiful  belt  of 

235 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

leather  studded  with  silver  nails  and  clasped  by  two 
bosses  of  beaten  silver  as  large  as  saucers,  upon  which 
were  raised  the  figures  of  Adam  and  Eve.  I  tried  to  buy 
these  of  him,  but  he  named  a  price  so  extravagant  that  I 
gave  it  up.  At  Hindeloopen  we  were  well  repaid  by  the 
curious  things  we  found.  The  old  church  bears  the 
inscription : 

"Des  heeren  woord 

Met  aandacht  noort 
Komt  dartoe  met-hoopen 
Als  Hinden  loopen." 

Translated  it  means  roughly  that  the  parishioners  should 
leap  \^loopen'\  or  run  like  the  deer  (Hinden)  to  listen  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  Hindeloopen  is  a  pleasant  and 
clean  little  fishing  village  as  yet  undiscovered  by  the 
artists,  as  is  Volendam,  but  I  am  convinced  that  it  will 
not  now  be  long  ere  one  finds  a  colony  there,  for  Mynheer 
of  the  hostelry  is  desirous  of  emulating  the  Spaanders  at 
the  latter  town.  He  has  a  small  collection  of  silver  and 
china,  and  some  carvings,  too,  for  which  the  country 
around  is  famed.  He  and  my  friend  struck  up  a  mighty 
friendship,  in  consequence  of  which  we  fared  quite  well, 
and  many  houses  were  opened  to  us  into  which  we  would 
not  have  otherwise  been  admitted.  In  the  old  church  are 
a  pile  of  biers  against  the  wall,  each  one  for  a  particular 
trade,  such  as  the  chirurgeon,  the  farmer,  the  blacksmith 
and  the  sailor.     On  each  is  a  painted  panel  and  much 

236 


Hindeloopen — The  Little  Green  Staircase 


HOLLAND  u  ^^ 

leather  studded  with  silver  nails  and  clasped  by  two 
bosses  of  beaten  silver  as  large  >as  saucers,  upon  which 
were  raised  tli  I  tried  to  buy 

these  o'  ^'agant  that  I 

ga\ 
our 


loners  should 
. .^  i  (Hind en)  to  listen  to 

the  H<  Hindeloopen  is  a  pleasant  and 

clean  little  fishins:  as  yet  undiscovered  by  the 

artists,  as  is  Vol<  need  that  it  will 

not  now  bf  lone:  ere  -"re,  for  Mynheer 

Soaanders  at 
md 


not  haver 
a  pikc„    :  . 
trade,  such  a^ 

I  the  r,!ii]o 


••  •  •  • 

•  •    «  *  • 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

ornament  and  figures  most  charmingly  conceived  and  ex- 
ecuted, with  emblems  for  each  trade.  Upon  one  of  them 
is  the  following  inscription  : 

"Al  wat  er  is. 

Mijn  hoop  is  Chris tus  en  zyn  bloed 
Door  deze  leer  ik  en  hoop  door  die  het  eenwig  goed. 
Ons  leven  is  maar  eenen  dag,  vol  ziekten  en  vol  naar  geklag 
Vol  rampen  dampen  en  Vendriet.     Een  schim  een  droom  en 
anders  niet." 

(Some  of  this  sounds  like  profanity,  but  it  is  really  all 
very  pious.)  Propriety  and  custom  demand  that  the 
sailor,  etc.,  be  carried  to  his  last  resting-place  each  on  his 
own  bier.  The  church  has  remains  of  the  fine  carvings 
and  stalls  spared  during  the  Reformation,  and  as  exam- 
ples of  woodworking  of  the  time  they  are  of  high  interest 
to  architects  and  antiquaries.  I  am  sorry  that  I  did  not 
get  a  photograph  of  the  peculiar  "linenfold"  cutting,  of 
which  I  have  never  seen  a  more  perfect  example.  But 
my  Dutch  friend  was  for  pressing  on  to  Bolsward,  and 
although  I  would  like  to  have  rested  here  for  a  few  days, 
I  yielded,  and  we  journeyed  by  train  to  this  large  and 
prosperous  town  of  between  five  and  six  thousand  inhab- 
itants, of  a  more  or  less  ambitious  character,  and  noted 
for  a  delightful  Stadhuis  all  in  red  and  white  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  delightfully  bulbous  cupola  of  pseudo 
oriental  character  which  is  most  amusing.  The  bells  are 
as  usual  visible  above  the  balcony,  but  the  church  alone 
repays  one  for  the  journey  hither.     It  is  paved  with  fine 

237 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

old  tombstones  which  will  delight  the  antiquary,  some 
very  high  in  relief  and  very  rich,  too,  in  detail  and  floria- 
tion,  so  much  so  that  one  hesitates  to  tread  upon  them. 
We  spent  quite  an  hour  deciphering  the  inscriptions,  but 
although  my  friend  was  voluble  in  his  explanations,  I  am 
not  now  much  the  wiser,  for  I  was  wearying  a  little  of  the 
English  lessons  which  he  exacted  willy-nilly  each  night 
before  we  went  to  bed. 

Bolsward  is  a  great  place  for  the  smoker,  from  what  I 
saw  of  tobacco  in  the  streets.  My  friend  gave  statistics, 
but  I  promptly  forgot  them,  so  I  cannot  set  them  down 
here.  As  well  take  away  a  Hollander's  breath  as  his 
tobacco  I  He  smokes  at  all  times  and  in  all  places — no, 
not  quite  that — never  in  church.  I  tried  to  find  out  at 
what  age  boys  begin  to  smoke.  I  have  seen  them  on  the 
way  to  school  puffing  away  at  a  five-inch  roll  of  very 
black  tobacco  with  all  the  gusto  of  a  veteran. 

The  council  chamber  is  a  beautiful  room  paneled 
in  dark-toned  oak,  with  some  fine  flagons  of  pewter  of 
very  large  proportions  hanging  on  the  wall.  The  ar- 
chives contain  a  document  signed  by  the  great  Alva  of 
Spain,  referring  to  a  dispute  between  Bolsward  and  Har- 
lingen  in  1573.  I  called  upon  the  burgomaster,  who  re- 
ceived us  with  great  courtesy,  and  invited  us  to  the  inevit- 
able glass  of  port,  after  which  he  tried  his  English  upon 
me,  and  I  retaliated  by  trying  my  best  Hollandish  upon 
him,  and  we  parted  good  friends,  too.     On  the  outskirts 

238 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

of  the  town  I  came  upon  the  solitary  local  policeman,  in 
full  regalia,  fishing  placidly  in  the  canal,  and  it  was  evi- 
dently nothing  strange,  for  the  passers-by  greeted  him 
without  surprise.  I  noted  that  he  had  caught  nothing. 
Everything  is  prosperous  and  clean-looking,  but  I  have 
a  sensitive  nose  and  the  canals  do  smell — in  hot  weather, 
at  least.  All  was  quiet,  the  children  happily  being  in 
school,  or  we  would  have  had  the  usual  escort.  The  dyke 
was  empty  except  for  two  women  with  yokes  on  their 
shoulders,  brass-tipped  and  painted  bright  green,  at  the 
ends  of  which  dangled  brass  cans.  The  women  were 
shrilly  arguing  as  they  walked.  I  made  some  sketches 
while  my  friend  discussed  politics  with  the  law  minion. 
I  saw  here  a  large  painted  signboard  (alas)  like  those  we 
have  in  America,  some  75  feet  long  and  advertising  in 
bright  paint  ''Sunlight  Zeep"  (soap) .  The  piscatorial 
policeman  here  asked  me,  pointing  to  the  signboard,  could 
I  paint  letters  as  well  as  that,  and  when  I  shook  my  head 
negatively,  both  he  and  my  friend  seemed  disappointed. 
Then  he  asked  me  did  I  know  that  there  was  a  road  from 
Sneek  to  Groningen  more  than  a  hundred  miles  long  and 
brick  paved  its  whole  length.  As  the  conversation  did 
not  seem  apropos  of  anything,  I  again  shook  my  head  and 
said  pleasantly,  ''Well,  what  of  it?"  This,  it  seemed,  he 
could  not  answer,  so  we  said  "Goen's  dag"  (Good  day) 
and  came  away.  As  I  desired  to  visit  Leeuwarden,  we 
left  Bolsward  the  following  day  by  rail  for  Sneek,  where 

239 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

we  took  passage  on  a  little  steamer  well  laden  with  house- 
hold utensils  and  furniture  and  a  crowd  of  country  peo- 
ple, the  women  in  lovely  gold  casques  covered  with  lace, 
and  bright-colored  shawls  and  waists  of  orange  green  and 
purple  which  enlivened  the  scene  wonderfully.  It  took 
us  upward  of  three  hours  and  a  half  to  make  the  trip,  so 
often  did  we  stop  en  route,  but  I  did  not  grudge  the  delay, 
so  entertaining  was  it  all.  Halfway,  at  Grouw  (the  pro- 
nunciation of  which  is  something  sounding  like  Hurrah) , 
the  towers  and  steeples  of  Leeu warden  were  visible  some- 
what dimly  on  the  horizon,  dominated  by  the  huge  tower 
of  the  Oude  Hof . 

Leeuwarden  (they  pronounce  it  "Low-varda")  man- 
ages to  maintain  most  of  its  former  characteristics  within 
the  old  limits  of  the  Singel,  and  is  said  to  be  the  center  of 
the  cattle  trade  of  Friesland.  It  lies  on  flat  green  mea- 
dows, surrounded  by  solitary  farmhouses  and  lonely  hills 
and  long  stretches  of  silvery  waterways.  Its  farmhouses 
are  noted,  and  have  been  described  elsewhere  as  having 
all  the  offices  and  buildings  under  one  roof,  which  is  liter- 
ally true.  We  passed  en  route  a  typical  one.  The  roof 
rises  from  the  ground  almost  to  a  point  high  over  the  clus- 
tering trees,  looking  from  a  distance  not  unlike  a  small 
replica  in  red  tile  of  the  pyramid  of  Cheops.  The  house 
roof  is  covered  with  dark  brown,  highly  glazed  tiles,  and 
at  intervals  with  unglazed  tile.  It  is  surrounded  by  a 
well-trimmed  box  hedge,  and  the  shutters  are  painted 

240 


-^^  -*?«.i'?i^ 


Bolszvard — The  Tower 


we  took  t  iiner  well  laden  with  house- 

hold e  and  a  crowd  of  country  peo- 

pr  ^ques  covered  with  lace, 

>l(>red  shawls  an-  inge  green  and 


of  the  Oude  Hof 
Leeuwarden 


ages  to  mair 


the  old  li 
the  catth 

dows,  SU' 


huge  towt 

"Low-varda")  man- 

rs  former  characteristics  within 

ud  to  be  the  center  of 

>n  flat  green  mea- 

mses  and  lonely  hills 

vater\  Its  farmhouses 

>cribeu  as  havinc: 

ndrronerooi, 

il  one 


roo.  , 
at  in^ 


nf^lazed  ;  .    .. 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

green,  the  window  sashes  and  frames  are  white,  and  in- 
side it  is  divided  by  a  corridor.  One-half  is  the  house 
proper,  the  other  the  stable,  etc.  Overhead  are  sleeping- 
rooms  for  the  help.  The  cow  stable  is  empty,  for  it  is 
summer  time.  Here  the  woodwork  is  scrubbed  clean  and 
bright,  and  at  each  stall  is  a  small  glazed  window  hung 
with  a  muslin  curtain.  At  one  end  is  the  hayloft,  and 
above  rises  the  roof  to  a  point;  all  about,  neatly  racked, 
are  farming  implements,  and  there  is  a  clean  stye  for  an 
immense  sow  and  a  litter  of  little  pink  pigs,  almost  as 
playful  as  kittens.  The  farmer  told  us  that  the  rigors  of 
the  winters  produced  this  type  of  house,  as  when  the  sea- 
son of  snow  begins  the  cows  must  be  put  under  cover, 
each  in  its  bestrawed  and  lace-curtained  compartment, 
where  it  can  be  fed  and  watered  in  warmth  and  comfort, 
contemplating  placidly  the  burnished  brass  utensils,  and 
with  the  perfume  of  burning  peat  over  all.  But  to  return 
to  Leeuwarden.  The  Friesian  farmers  regard  it  as  head- 
quarters for  the  cattle  trade,  and  are  to  be  found  here  in 
large  numbers  on  market  days,  which  is  rather  interest- 
ing. There  is  also  here  much  racing  and  trotting  of 
horses — Harddraverij,  as  they  call  it  in  the  language. 
The  town  is  large,  fairly  clean,  very  prosperous,  I  am 
told,  and  the  women  are  said  to  be  beautiful.  I  did  not 
see  any  such,  but  I  remarked  some  fairly  good-looking 
ones.  It  is  upon  Sunday,  in  church,  and  on  the  streets 
afterward,  that  one  may  see  them  to  the  best  advantage 

241 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

in  their  glorious  golden  casques,  and  from  an  upper  win- 
dow the  effect  of  gold  glittering  in  the  sunlight  on  the 
heads  of  the  crowds  below  is  remarkable  and  worth  trav- 
eling a  long  distance  to  see. 

My  friend  entertained  me  volubly  with  a  more  or  less 
comprehensible  account  of  the  Friesians  before  we  retired 
that  night,  and  I  gathered  that  these  people  are  the 
descendants  of  a  Germanic  tribe  and  have  preserved  their 
characteristics  comparatively  unaltered.  Charlemagne 
collected  their  ancient  laws,  and  still  in  existence  some- 
where is  the  Asegehuch  in  the  old  Friesian  tongue  and 
Latin  containing  the  Friesian  laws.  The  language  here 
differs  very  considerably  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the 
Netherlands,  occupying  an  intermediate  position  be- 
tween Anglo-Saxon  and  Old  Norse,  and  often,  my  friend 
said,  closely  resembling  English.  It  boasts  of  a  consid- 
erable literature,  but  is  gradually  being  supplanted  by 
the  more  modern  tongue.  I  couldn't  have  had  a  more 
perfect  guide  than  my  companion,  and  I  do  not  now 
begrudge  the  price  I  paid  for  his  companionship,  although 
the  English  lessons  did  wear  upon  my  nerves.  He  was 
ever  good-humored  and  enthusiastic — ever  rising  to  the 
occasion,  and  I  take  pleasure  here  in  thanking  him  with 
entire  appreciation,  and  express  the  hope  that  his  ambi- 
tions regarding  the  future  burgomastership  were  realized, 
but  I  have  never  since  heard  from  him,  although  I  have 

242 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

sent  him,   occasionally,   illustrated  papers  chronicling 
events  in  which  I  fancied  him  interested. 

In  looking  over  the  map  I  chanced  upon  the  name  of  a 
town  that  seemed  to  possess  attraction,  being  on  the  sea 
and  away  from  the  beaten  track.  It  is  called  Nes.  And 
as  my  friend  had  never  even  heard  of  it,  we  consulted  the 
proprietor.  He  regarded  us  with  amazement.  Why 
did  we  wish  to  leave  a  comfortable  hotel  in  a  fine  town 
to  go  to  a  miserable  place  like  that?  Nes!  Why,  that 
is  in  Ameland,  a  foreign  country,  a  miserable  little  island 
across  the  Finke  Wad,  The  Pinke  Wad!  How  delight- 
ful, I  thought;  the  very  name  was  attractive.  So,  in 
spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  hotel-keeper,  who  prom- 
ised a  variety  of  entertainment  if  we  would  remain,  we 
arranged  then  and  there  to  leave  the  following  morning 
for  Dokkum,  from  where  we  could,  I  thought,  hire  a  team 
to  take  us  to  Wierum,  thence  by  boat  to  Nes.  The  morn- 
ing proved  showery,  but  we  decided  to  go  on  by  a  river 
boat  through  the  canal.  The  skipper  was  an  honest- 
looking  fellow,  who  owned  his  boat  and  picked  up  a  liv- 
ing carrying  supplies.  There  was  a  tiny  cabin  where  our 
traps  were  deposited,  almost  filling  the  space,  and  we  cast 
off  in  the  rain  and  sailed  and  poled  along  until  we  were 
overtaken  by  a  small  and  dirty  steamer,  the  captain  of 
which  very  ungraciously,  I  thought,  consented  to  take  our 
line  and  tow  us  for  two  gulden,  which  sum  I  handed  over 

243 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

in  the  rain,  together  with  a  couple  of  cigars.  The  gift 
lifted  the  cloud,  so  to  speak,  and  he  invited  me  to  sit 
with  him  at  the  tiller  and  be  cross-examined:  Was  I 
English'?  Where  did  I  come  from^  America  I  In- 
deed, and  why*?  What  business  was  I  in*?  What  did 
it  cost  to  come  from  America'?  So  much'?  How  much 
did  herring  bring  in  New  York*?  How  did  it  happen 
that  I  did  not  know*?  Was  I  married^  Then  where 
was  my  wife*?  Where  was  I  going?  To  Nes?  And 
why*?  Then  I  attacked  him  in  turn:  Had  he  never 
been  to  Nes?  What?  Was  it  possible?  And  why? 
Why  should  he  indeed?  Did  he  not  know  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Nes  were  the  finest  people  in  North  Holland? 
The  most  polite,  too  I  The  most  cordial  to  the  stranger. 
Strange,  I  said,  that  one  so  well  informed  as  he  should 
not  know  that  Nes  was  such  a  desirable  place — far  more 
to  be  desired  than  Dokkum.  At  this  he  regarded  me  with 
such  open-mouthed  amazement  that  I  could  hardly  keep 
from  laughing,  but  I  retained  my  composure  and  gravity, 
and,  giving  him  another  cigar,  I  returned  to  the  boat 
astern  where  my  companion  remained  soaking  in  the  rain, 
which  was  still  falling.  I  could  see  that  the  skipper  of 
the  little  steamer  was  very  uneasy  in  his  mind  regarding 
me,  and  at  intervals  in  steering  he  would  turn  and  gaze 
in  my  direction  in  a  very  puzzled  manner.  Evidently 
my  appreciation  of  Nes  and  its  attractions  worried  him. 
And  so  we  continued  during  the  nine  miles  from  Leeu- 

244 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

warden  to  Dokkum,  through  the  vast  flat  green  meadows 
soaking  in  the  mist  and  rain,  passing  occasionally  a  river 
boat  being  poled  along  by  bent,  silent,  stolid  men,  who 
rarely  vouchsafed  a  salute  in  return  for  ours,  and  occa- 
sionally a  steep-roofed  farmhouse,  and  black-and-white 
cattle  grazing  in  the  polders.  Dokkum,  at  which  we 
bade  farewell  to  our  boatman  with  thanks  and  the  pa- 
troon  of  the  steamer  with  some  hilarity,  which  he  gravely 
considered  for  long  afterward,  I  well  knew,  is  a  small 
village  with  few  characteristics  differing  from  others  of 
its  class,  is  a  clean  place  withal,  and  only  noted  as  being 
the  locality  where  St.  Boniface  was  slain  by  the  Friesians 
in  the  year  755 — so  said  my  friend,  consulting  his  book. 
We  were  escorted  from  the  canal  side  to  the  small  inn  by 
the  usual  mob  of  children,  the  number  of  which  increased 
as  we  walked,  the  phalanx  headed  by  a  remarkable-look- 
ing cross-eyed  youth  with  a  long,  evil-smelling  cigar  in 
his  mouth.  Our  names  and  destinations  being  entered  in 
the  book  at  the  inn,  we  were  served  with  schnapps  (Gene- 
ver)  and  then  changed  our  wet  shoes  and  socks  for  dry 
ones  in  a  large  room  on  the  upper  floor,  containing  three 
huge  beds  piled  high  with  gorgeous  floriated,  feathery 
quilts  as  thick  as  mattresses,  each  bed  with  a  small  flight 
of  steps  at  its  side.  This  was  the  entire  accommodation 
for  travelers  afforded  by  the  inn.  What  happened  when 
a  man  and  his  wife  arrived  I  could  not  but  conjecture,  but 
my  friend  seemed  to  think  it  unworthy  of  comment,  at 

245 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

any  rate.  We  created  considerable  excitement  in  Dok- 
kum.  Wherever  we  went  or  whenever  we  left  the  inn 
we  were  followed  by  some  of  the  natives,  and  always 
the  children;  when  we  halted  they  too  stood  still  gravely 
considering  our  clothing  and  appearance.  When  I  began 
to  sketch  they  became  so  eager  to  see  that  the  policeman 
and  the  postmaster  came  forth  to  examine  and  criticize, 
and  even  the  old  women,  usually  so  indifferent  to  us, 
grew  enthusiastic  and  voluble  over  something  or  other  in 
my  appearance,  I  know  not  what.  I  took  refuge  in  a 
bakery,  where  I  purchased  a  wonderfully  constructed 
ginger  cake,  which  I  divided  among  the  children ;  it  was, 
1  found,  almost  as  hard  as  one  of  the  brick  klinkers  of  the 
pathway,  but  they  chewed  it  appreciatively  and  said, 
severally,  "Dank  u  well,  Mynheer."  The  resources  of 
the  inn  seemed  to  be  taxed  to  the  extreme  by  our  pres- 
ence. The  meals  were  tardy  and  the  "Rundvleesch,"  or 
steak,  was  thin,  barely  warm,  tough,  and  greasy;  the  pota- 
toes, too,  were  stale  and,  it  seemed  to  me,  had  often  been 
fried,  served,  and  uneaten.  I  know  that  we  did  not  eat 
them.  The  innkeeper  was  from  Amsterdam  originally, 
had  come  as  a  waiter  or  worker  in  the  house,  and  upon 
the  death  of  the  proprietor  had  married  the  widow,  a  sour, 
hard-featured  woman  of  large  stature  and  brawn,  who 
appeared  occasionally  at  the  doorway  of  the  kitchen  and 
loweringly  regarded  us,  me  particularly,  I  fancied,  for 
whom  she  seemed  to  entertain  some  animosity;  at  any 

246 


*      »   *\*  • 


j.j«S*i?«S»4. 


0«^  o/  ^/i^  503^5 — Torment  and  Delight 


H(UJAND  OJ 

...cd  •    '-'^^erable  excitement  in  Dok- 
.i:^>    -.  whenever  v<    ■  h 


.A    , 


7-1.... 


^A^ihQ.  Viwa  Jw-^w-toT — it^oft  ^j\\  \o  ^wO 


«  •  •    .• 


m    • 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

rate  I  was  really  afraid  of  her.  The  innkeeper  was  an 
extraordinary  person,  who  in  the  evening  suddenly  ad- 
dressed me  in  English,  and  when  I  expressed  surprise 
shrugged  his  shoulders  and  informed  me  that  he  could 
"speak  English,  French,  German,  all  tongues  in  fact. 
All  the  same  to  me  what  I  spik !  What  ye  will  I"  Then 
went  on  to  inform  us  that  he  had  been  in  London,  Paris, 
Cologne — everyfaire! — while  the  sour-faced  vrouwe,  a 
child  in  her  arms,  regarded  me  loweringly  from  the  dark 
doorway.  When  he  found  that  we  were  going  on  the 
following  day  to  leave  him  for  Nes  by  way  of  Wierum, 
he  became  strangely  silent,  then  suddenly  he  said,  ad- 
dressing no  one  in  particular,  but  with  his  watery  eyes 
fixed  on  the  ceiling : 

"Wat  baeter  Kaers  of  brill, 
Als  den  uil  niet  sien  wil." 

and  retired  into  the  dark  doorway,  where  I  heard  him 
vehemently  arguing  with  some  one  in  his  nasal  gutturals. 
I  somehow  became  apprehensive,  of  I  know  not  what,  but 
I  asked  my  friend,  who  seemed  troubled,  what  it  was  the 
fellow  had  said. 

"Of  what  use  are  the  candles  and  spectacles  when  the 
owl  will  see  not^"  said  he,  translating  laboriously. 
"But,"  said  I,  "what  did  he  mean?"  "It  is  a  proverb," 
he  answered,  placing  his  forefinger  at  the  side  of  his  nose 
mysteriously,  and  would  say  no  more.     That  night  I  en- 

247 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

tertained  a  select  company  in  the  taproom,  consisting  of 
the  postmaster,  the  clergyman,  and  the  local  policeman, 
with  accounts  of  New  York  City;  of  the  subways  then 
building  beneath  the  city;  of  the  electric  tramway  system; 
of  the  elevated  railroad,  which,  by  the  way,  I  could  see 
they  regarded  as  exaggerated  fiction  upon  my  part;  of  the 
Flatiron  Building,  its  shape  and  its  wonderful  height; 
of  the  electric  elevators  in  it  which  raced  up  and  down 
the  entire  day  and  part  of  the  night;  of  the  crowds  of 
people  who  came  into  and  left  the  city  by  day;  of  the 
wonderful  bridges  over  the  East  River,  and  the  ocean 
steamships  that  crossed  in  four  and  one-half  days  to  and 
from  Europe,  and  whatever  else  I  fancied  would  astonish 
them.  My  audience  appreciatively  considered  it  all, 
and  finally,  when  I  yawned,  they  got  up  from  the  table 
gravely  and,  taking  me  by  the  hand  in  turn,  thanked  me 
for  the  honor  of  my  company,  and  went  each  one  of  them 
home  to  his  anxious  wife  to  relate,  perhaps,  something  of 
the  wonders  of  which  they  had  heard  of  the  great  world 
outside.  That  night  I  saw  to  the  door-fastenings  of  the 
huge  room  where  we  slept,  for  I  distrusted  the  innkeeper, 
and  I  had  vague  uncomfortable  dreams  of  unheard-of 
villainies  practiced  upon  me,  but  with  the  beams  of  the 
morning  sun  streaming  into  the  room  my  fears  all  van- 
ished, and  after  a  breakfast  of  tea,  which  we  made  our- 
selves on  the  table,  and  two  or  three  cold  boiled  eggs,  I 
paid  the  still  scowling  innkeeper's  wife  for  our  accommo- 

248 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

dations,  gave  the  baby  in  arms  a  dubbeltje  for  itself,  and 
the  cross-eyed  boy  shouldering  our  traps,  we  drove  away 
in  a  high-waisted  tilbury  toward  Wierum.  I  never  saw 
the  innkeeper  again,  and  I  was  not  sorry,  though  I  have 
often  wondered  what  was  in  his  mind  concerning  me. 

The  drive  along  the  roads  and  the  dyke  was  entirely 
uneventful,  and  I  remember  nothing  of  it,  save  that  the 
boy  beat  the  fat  horse  shamefully  with  a  stout  club  and 
was  ugly  when  I  expostulated  with  him,  so  that  I  had  to 
present  him  with  a  cigar  to  restore  him  to  good  humor. 
Wierum  is  a  tiny  town  on  the  Friesche  Wadden,  a  shal- 
low body  of  water  between  Ameland  and  the  Mainland. 
It  is  well  dyked,  and  there  are  a  few  fishermen  here,  who 
make  a  very  precarious  living;  they  are  not  very  civil  to 
the  stranger,  and  had  I  not  had  the  company  of  a  Hol- 
lander, I  think  I  might  have  fared  very  badly.  The 
country  is  dismal  in  the  extreme,  and  on  the  day  I  ar- 
rived, with  the  wind  blowing  a  gale,  the  clouds  black  and 
lowering,  seemingly  within  reach  overhead,  I  think  I 
never  saw  a  drearier-looking  place.  We  repaired  at  once 
to  the  house  of  the  postmaster,  a  singular-looking  man 
with  badly  fitting  false  teeth,  which  clicked  and  rattled 
as  he  talked — that  is,  when  he  did  talk,  which  was  but 
seldom  when  we  were  with  him.  Amid  the  howling  of 
the  gale  and  the  banging  of  shutters  on  the  house,  he  told 
us  that  we  should  have  gone  to  Holwerd,  a  small  town 
farther  to  the  south,  from  which  we  might  have  made 

249 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

better  arrangements  to  get  over  to  Nes.  But  we  might, 
he  said,  remain  with  him  until  to-morrow  if  we  liked, 
when  we  could  make  our  arrangements.  This  was  a  spot 
rarely  visited  by  a  stranger,  he  said;  no,  he  had  never 
seen  an  artist  there;  he  was  a  painter  himself,  and  a 
glazier,  too,  but  there  was  but  little  business  for  him  in 
such  a  small  place,  so  he  had  secured  the  position  of  post- 
master, likewise  he  attended  to  the  formalities  of  fu- 
nerals; no,  he  was  not  an  undertaker,  he  simply  notified 
the  undertaker  when  necessary;  he  bought  and  sold  pota- 
toes, beets,  and  fish  for  the  dealers  in  Leeu warden;  he 
was  also  acting  as  secretary  of  the  Raad  or  Town  Coun- 
cil— that  is  to  say,  when  they  met,  which  was  not  often. 
Here  was  a  real  Dutch  prototype  of  'Tooh  Bah,"  the 
first  I  had  ever  met,  and  he  bore  his  honors  with  dignity, 
too.  He  had  a  fine  boxwood  carved  pipe-case  sticking 
out  of  his  coat  pocket,  from  which  he  presently  extracted 
a  well-colored  clay  pipe,  filled  and  lighted  it  and  clenched 
it  tightly  between  his  misfit  teeth.  It  was  too  stormy  to 
venture  out  of  doors,  for  the  wind  blew  violently  from 
the  sea  over  the  dunes  and  dyke,  and  soon  the  rain  drove 
against  the  windows  in  sheets,  the  roadway  outside  ran 
in  rivers  of  water,  and  rarely  did  any  one  pass  by.  So 
the  afternoon  passed,  and  as  nightfall  came  on  a  man  or 
two  dropped  in  for  a  glass  of  ''bitters"  or  a  smoke.  How 
should  one  get  to  Nes,  I  asked.  At  the  question  the  two 
men  playing  billiards  at  the  end  of  the  taproom  turned  to 

250 


1.^ 


Sneek — The  Water  Gate 


TO-DAY 

1.  tter  arranr  o  get  over  to  Nes.-   But  we  mi^t, 

*  r     iiri.  rrni  '.im  until  tn-morrow  if  we  liked, 

Thic:  was  a  spot 


i  ;  "v,  1  <^  .    J  .,     if>j,     ,  n.      *■  >i,ii     VJ  tJ  V  IV.  J  k,t*  .v\,  i  .,     ii\. 


»-v  il    v^\/un- 


the  undertaker  Vvw v.;  iiccessary;  he  bought 
toes,  beets,  and  fish  for  the  dealer^  '^'  " 
was  also  acting  as  secretary  oi  t^"^ 
cil— that  '    '"  ^':^"    »!.- -.  *v.^„  .,  ,^^^  qq^  often. 

Here  was  4  ^  ,11  ou  ^j    ^^iu.  ^!_,t  </      a  ooh  Bah,"  the 
first  I  had  ever  met,  and  1?"  **^   •"  '  **^  honor"  -  '''^-   i:..^- 
too.     He  har^  ^  *■  "  ' ---  d  pip  .-u^ 

out  of  his  CO.  u i V 1 1  i ) e  presc  11  n  ^  ^ 

..  ..,.n    .,,.'  ,_  J  1;  .1..     .1  :.   . 

^r> 


ill  fiVCIb 

the  afternoon  p 

two  dropped  in  t  ui  a  g  i 

should  one  get  to  Nes,  1  Jo  s-co,     ..  ju   >l 

mn\  playing  billiards  at  the  end  ot  rhc  taproom  lurnc 


■  ^;i?<*J^"'li^T-*''^'^A'^'''^'v?^^i12S*'5l' 


THROUGH  FRIESLAND 

regard  me  anew.  Nes,  indeed !  I  was  plainly  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  them.  What  should  a  stranger  want  at 
Nes^  My  friend  here  addressed  them  volubly.  It  was 
difficult  to  follow  him,  so  rapidly  did  he  fire  the  gutturals 
at  them.  I  heard  many  "neens"  uttered  in  various  keys, 
sometimes  very  sharply  and  again  very  slowly  uttered. 
It  is  certainly  amazing  what  shades  of  expression  a  Hol- 
lander can  give  to  his  words.  Then  my  friend  informed 
me  that  we  might  find  it  difficult  to  get  through  the  Finke 
Wad.  Well  and  good,  quoth  I.  I  care  not  if  it  takes  a 
week.  The  Pinke  Wad  hath  no  terror  for  me.  Pike's 
Peak  or  bust !  I  said  to  my  friend,  and  he  made  me  repeat 
it  so  that  he  had  it  by  heart.  And  then,  of  course,  I  must 
explain  what  Pike's  Peak  or  bust  meant.  This  took  so 
much  time  that  it  was  quite  nine  by  the  clock  when  he 
had  finally  mastered  it,  and  it  so  delighted  him  that  he 
rolled  it  upon  his  tongue  as  a  sweet  morsel,  although  he 
would  call  it  occasionally  Pikspike,  so  I  finally  ceased  to 
correct  him.  I  don't  know  what  a  Pinke  Wad  is,  even 
now.  I  never  found  out.  For  the  rain  it  rained  as  I 
had  never  seen  it  before  or  since,  and  the  wind  blew  a 
gale  night  and  day,  during  which  I,  clad  in  rubber  coat 
and  high  boots,  haunted  the  dyke  and  the  dunes  buffeted 
by  the  winds  and  drenched  by  driving  rain.  I  hated  to 
give  up  the  delightful  unknown  dangers  of  the  Pinke 
Wad,  and  the  equally  unknown  joys  of  Nes,  but  I  could 
get  no  one  to  undertake  a  journey  or  a  sail  over  the 

251 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

boiling  yellow  waters  of  the  Meer  into  the  mist  where  it 
lay  hidden  from  my  sight.  In  the  storm  some  of  the 
boats  were  cast  up  high  and  dry  on  the  stone  dyke,  others 
tore  loose  from  their  moorings  and  were  carried  away 
over  the  Meer.  Roofs  leaked  and  chimneys  in  the  little 
village  were  blown  down.  As  I  passed  along  the  narrow 
street,  bending  to  the  storm,  anxious  white-faced  vrouws 
peered  at  me  from  the  small  windows.  My  friend  would 
not  venture  forth,  but  hugged  the  smoky  peat  fire  in  the 
small  taproom,  studied  the  dictionary,  and  formulated 
new  and  intricate  grammatical  problems  with  which  to 
bait  me  whenever  we  were  together.  I  came  near  hating 
him,  and  I  sickened  at  the  sound  of  the  reiterated  "Piks- 
pike."  And — well,  that  ended  it.  I  never  saw  Nes. 
On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  we  left  Wierum ;  it  was 
still  raining  I  There  is  still  then  in  Holland  one  place 
at  least  which  I  was  never  to  see,  and  as  such  it  is  em- 
balmed in  the  amber  of  my  discontent — Nes,  the  un- 
known; Nes,  the,  for  me,  ungetatable.  And  so  I  left 
Friesland. 


25:2 


Ws^  %ti0k 


a  HE  first  inhabitants  of  Holland  came  from  Ger- 
many and  adopted  as  their  new  home  the  island  of 
Batavia,  a  long  strip  of  land  lying  within  the 
forked  estuary  of  the  Rhine.     So  brave  a  race  were  they 
that  the  bodyguards  of  the  Roman  Emperors  were  drawn 
from  their  ranks.     It  is  said  that  Friesland  and  the  north- 
ern districts  were  likewise  peopled  with  these  German  mi- 
grants, but  they  differed  in  national  character  and  ad- 
mitted no  allegiance  to  the  Romans,  then  paramount 
throughout  northwest  Europe,  and  became  known  as  the 
free   Friesians.     Under   Charlemagne's   powerful   rule 
(a.  d.  800)   the  provinces,  including  what  is  now  Bel- 
gium, were  united.     After  the  conquest  of  the  Belgians, 
the  Batavians  became  the  allies  of  Rome;  later  on  they 
disappeared.     Fifty  years  later,  by  the  treaty  of  Verdun, 
the  country  was  divided.    Batavia  and  Friesland  were  al- 
loted  to  Germany,  while  Dukes  and  Counts,  each  ruling, 
yet  subject  to  the  German  Emperors,  were  appointed  to 
the  provinces,  which  now  became  principalities.     Trade 
routes  were  established  to  distant  parts  of  the  world ;  law 
rather  than  might  made  itself  manifest  in  various  charters 
from  Princes  to  people.     At  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

tury  the  rulers  are  found  presiding  over  the  provincial 
estates,  marking  the  beginning  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment. At  this  period  came  the  great  inundation  when 
the  North  Sea  burst  through  the  dunes  and  rolled  in  over 
the  low-lying  lands,  uniting  with  an  inland  lake.  The 
ocean  engulfed  more  than  a  thousand  Friesian  villages 
and  formed  the  present  Zuyderzee.  Philip,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  surnamed  "The  Good,"  dispossessed  his 
young  cousin,  Jacquelin,  of  her  rightful  heritage  of  Hain- 
ault,  Zeeland,  and  North  and  South  Holland.  Soon 
after  he  acquired  Luxemburg  and  assumed  lordship  over 
Friesland  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  established  at 
Bruges  (1429)  the  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece;  in  1467 
he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Charles  the  Bold,  whose 
dominant  object  was  to  make  his  dukedom  a  kingdom. 
He  ruined  his  country  financially,  and  died  ignomin- 
iously.  His  daughter,  the  Lady  Mary,  inherited  the  vast 
but  impoverished  realm.  They  lie  buried  side  by  side 
in  magnificent,  gilded,  enameled,  and  marble  tombs  in 
the  Cathedral  at  Bruges. 

Louis  XI  of  France,  another  member  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  earned  the  laurels  of  the  order  by  seizing  Bur- 
gundy. It  was  now  that  Lady  Mary,  to  secure  the  loyal 
adhesion  of  her  subjects,  granted  them  "the  Great  Priv- 
ilege," the  Magna  Charta  of  Holland.  In  1493,  her  hus- 
band, the  Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria,  inherited  his 
father's  throne.     Notice  the  accretion  of  thrones  and 

254 


THE  REPUBLIC 

principalities.  Maximilian's  son,  Philip  the  Fair,  heir 
to  enormous  territory,  married  the  Princess  of  Castile  and 
Aragon,  and  thus  added  Spain  to  the  family  domain. 
Philip's  son  was  Charles  V,  King  of  Spain,  Emperor  of 
Germany,  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of  the  Netherlands, 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  monarch  practically  of  half  the 
known  world. 

Under  the  Spanish  rule  the  inhabitants  of  Holland  be- 
came restive,  and  finally  forcibly  resented  its  tyranny  and 
robbery,  following  which  Charles  V  confiscated  the  Great 
Privilege  and  all  municipal  rights.  The  people  de- 
murred. Punishment  swiftly  followed,  and  Charles 
scourged  the  people  into  submission  with  rods  of  iron, 
and  squandered  their  blood  and  treasure  in  European 
wars.  He  now  sought  to  exterminate  heresy  by  execu- 
tion, and  failed.  In  1555,  wearied  with  wars  and  the 
cares  of  state,  he  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  Philip  II, 
a  gloomy  monarch  of  fanatical  tendencies,  assassinator  of 
William,  Prince  of  Orange;  the  strong  maintainer  of  the 
Inquisition  with  its  tens  of  thousands  of  slaughtered  vic- 
tims, and  the  deliberate  midnight  murderer  of  his  own 
son,  Don  Carlos.  Holland's  darkest  hour  was  at  hand. 
Motley  vividly  portrays  the  hell  let  loose  upon  the  king- 
dom. With  the  assistance  of  his  servile  minister,  Gran- 
ville, the  Inquisition  did  its  work.  The  King  retired  to 
Spain,  but  quartered  his  Spanish  troops  throughout  the 
States,  to  the  impoverishment  and  despair  of  the  people. 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

The  King's  sister,  Margaret  of  Parma,  was  installed  in 
the  Netherlands  as  regent.  At  this  distressful  period, 
three  champions  of  liberty — namely,  William,  Prince  of 
Orange;  Count  Egmont,  a  brilliant  general,  and  Count 
Horn — urged  the  King  to  redress  the  people's  wrongs. 
They  claimed  (i)  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops;  (2)  the 
removal  of  the  Inquisition;  (3)  the  restoration  of  the 
people's  right  through  the  States  General  to  vote  the 
sums  of  money  demanded  by  the  King.  The  King  now 
retired  both  Margaret  of  Parma  and  Granville  in  favor 
of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  the  garrisons  were  doubled  by 
an  army  sent  from  Spain  to  suppress  the  insurrection  and 
root  out  the  heretics.  With  callous  brutality,  Alva  in- 
vited Egmont  and  Horn  to  a  banquet;  though  urged  by 
William  of  Orange  to  beware  of  treachery,  they  went, 
were  seized  by  Alva's  soldiers,  and  notwithstanding  their 
rank  and  services  to  Philip,  were  executed.  By  behead- 
ing, hanging,  burning,  and  torturing  on  the  rack,  the 
Duke  of  Alva  put  to  death  some  one  thousand  persons, 
while  many  thousands  were  driven  out  of  the  country. 
The  insurrection  then  became  a  war  of  independence,  un- 
der the  leadership  of  William  of  Orange.  Eventually, 
the  Dutch  Protestants  were  successful,  and  several  of  the 
provinces,  renouncing  their  allegiance  to  Spain,  pro- 
claimed the  Prince  of  Orange  stadhouder,  and  by  a  treaty 
at  Utrecht  (1579)  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Dutch 
Republic. 

256 


Hindeloopen — The  Headdress 


The  Kh 


Hnr: 


laimed  ^^T> 


Parma,  was 


William,  Pri; 

and  Coti 


Alva 


L     F 


nH  r 


v.'/^i\>\^^"',\\  <^\\'V-  -\ri(\oo\  Au\\V\ 


•      •  •• 


THE  REPUBLIC 

William  the  Silent,  who  is  said  to  have  earned  the 
sobriquet  because  he  controlled  himself  and  made  no  com- 
ment when  Henry  II  had  arranged  a  general  massacre  of 
Protestants  throughout  France  and  the  Netherlands, 
saved  by  his  prudence,  at  any  rate  for  a  time,  the  threat- 
ened disaster.  He  was  Charles  V's  favorite  ambassador. 
He  was  born  in  1533  and  died  in  1584.  Although  a 
stanch  Catholic  and  supporter  of  the  King,  William  re- 
peatedly protested  to  him  against  Alva's  atrocities,  but 
without  the  slightest  effect.  The  blood  council  was  now 
established,  and  incredible  as  it  is  now  to  believe,  sen- 
tence of  death  was  passed  upon  the  whole  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Netherlands  (February  16,  1568).  Philip 
confirmed  the  edict,  and  ordered  its  immediate  execu- 
tion. Thus  Alva's  victims  could  be  executed  without 
even  the  formality  of  a  mock  trial.      (See  Motley.) 

William  of  Orange  took  active  steps  to  oppose  Alva 
but,  too  utterly  cowed  to  assist,  the  Dutch  populace  re- 
mained passive  while  the  Prince  spent  his  own  fortune 
on  foreign  troops.  Despite  the  valor  of  his  brothers 
Louis  and  John,  defeats  followed.  The  Beggars  of  the 
Sea,  a  body  of  nobles  banded  together  to  resist  Alva,  met 
with  some  success.  Prince  William's  own  States,  Zee- 
land  and  Holland,  on  land  alone,  showed  determination 
to  resist.  The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  only  stimu- 
lated the  desires  of  Philip  and  Alva.  Cities  whose  in- 
habitants defied  the  Spaniards  were  besieged.     Surren- 

257 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

der  on  promise  of  mercy  nearly  always  resulted  in  the 
inhabitants  being  put  to  the  sword,  as  at  Naarden  and 
Haarlem.  (See  Motley.)  The  siege  of  Leyden,  how- 
ever, brought  a  sudden  check  to  the  Spaniards,  for  when 
the  city  was  at  its  last  gasp,  William,  from  his  fever- 
stricken  couch,  ordered  the  cutting  of  the  dykes,  whereby 
the  country  was  flooded.  His  fleet  of  warships  being  in 
readiness,  he  sailed  up  to  the  very  walls  of  the  city. 
Through  years  of  toil  and  privation  William  held 
to  his  trust,  the  freeing  of  his  country.  Affectionately 
called  Father  William,  he  matched  his  intellect  against 
the  cleverest  men  of  his  age,  and  with  his  enthusiasm  kept 
alive  the  waning  spark  of  national  patriotism.  His  is  a 
solitary  and  splendid  figure.  When,  in  1581,  the  Hol- 
land States  finally  renounced  their  allegiance  to  Spain, 
Prince  William  was  elected  stadhouder,  after  he  had  em- 
phatically refused  any  higher  title.  On  July  10,  1584, 
an  obscure  hireling  of  Philip  II,  tempted  by  the  large  re- 
ward offered  by  the  King,  gained  access  and  secreted  him- 
self near  the  principal  stairway  of  Prince  William's 
house.  Armed  with  a  pistol,  he  fired  several  poisoned 
bullets  at  the  Prince,  two  of  which  took  effect.  Thus 
passed  the  spirit  of  this  great  man,  his  last  words  as  he 
fell  being  a  prayer,  "God  save  this  unhappy  country." 
The  murderer  was  promptly  executed,  his  flesh  being  torn 
from  his  body  by  hot  pincers,  but  his  parents,  on  claim- 

258 


THE  REPUBLIC 

ing  the  blood  money  from  Philip  II,  were  at  once  exalted 
and  granted  patents  of  nobility. 

The  Hollanders  were  undismayed.  William's  son, 
Maurice,  was  then  elected  stadhouder,  and  ruled  until 
1625  amid  a  period  of  increasing  prosperity.  The  re- 
public grew  and  flourished  in  spite  of  the  theological  dis- 
putes which  were  rife,  and  in  consequence  of  which  the 
pensionary,  John  Van  Olden  Barnevelt,  was  put  to  death 
by  Maurice.  The  war  with  Spain  was  vigorously  carried 
on.  The  Dutch  admirals,  De  Ruyter  and  Tromp,  added 
immensely  to  the  power  and  reputation  of  Holland. 
With  commercial  prosperity,  the  population  rapidly  in- 
creased; both  on  land  and  sea  the  Dutch  defeated  their 
former  masters.  The  merchant  fleets  navigated  the 
world  and  founded  the  Dutch  colonies.  On  the  death  of 
Maurice,  his  brother,  Frederick  Henry  (1645-1647) ,  suc- 
ceeded as  stadhouder,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  country 
reached  its  zenith.  The  commerce  of  Holland  was  re- 
nowned the  world  over,  and  the  Dutch  navigators,  paint- 
ers, and  scientists  were  in  their  full  glory.  By  the  peace 
of  Westphalia,  the  great  work  of  William  the  Silent  was 
completed. 

Europe  had  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the 
provinces,  and  William  II,  son  of  Frederick,  came  to 
the  throne,  surviving  his  father  by  only  a  few  years.  In 
consequence  of  dissensions  breaking  out,  John  De  Witt 

259 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

was  elected  grand  pensionary.  In  1652,  the  first  naval 
war  with  England  was  declared,  in  consequence  of  the 
navigation  act  passed  by  the  English  Parliament,  which 
was  intended  to  promote  the  navigation  laws  of  Britain 
and  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  naval  power  of  the  Dutch. 
Admirals  Tromp  and  De  Ruyter  came  to  the  fore,  and 
the  English  fleet  suffered  more  than  one  heavy  reverse. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  second  war,  in  1664,  De  Ruyter 
succeeded  in  sailing  up  the  river  Thames  as  far  as  Chat- 
ham. 

Louis  XIV  of  France  cast  covetous  eyes  on  the 
Netherlands,  alleging  a  right  to  them  on  behalf  of  his 
Spanish  wife,  Maria  Theresa,  but  he  was  checkmated  by 
the  triple  alliance,  formed  by  John  De  Witt  between 
England,  Holland's  quondam  enemy,  and  Sweden  and 
Holland  to  resist  that  very  attack.  De  Witt,  however, 
fell  a  victim  to  the  vengeance  of  the  people,  who  accused 
him  of  harboring  designs  against  the  stadhouder,  Wil- 
liam III,  who  was  now  at  the  head  of  the  provinces.  In 
1672,  England  went  to  war  with  Holland  again,  and  in 
the  same  year,  the  triple  alliance  having  been  dissolved, 
Louis  of  France  took  possession  of  certain  of  the  Dutch 
provinces,  and  De  Witt,  with  his  brother,  was  killed 
by  the  infuriated  Dutch  mob  at  The  Hague.  The  young 
Prince  of  Orange  then  became  stadhouder,  and  in  1688 
was  crowned  William  III,  King  of  England.  His 
cousin,  Prince  John  William  of  Friesland,  was  elected 

260 


'^i:s^.^m:-r^«aieimewimmBk».\.&^^^  ^r^snstF.'-s^i^^vsBws^iecraeiHBr. 


Gorkuni — Old  Houses 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

was  elected  grand  {>ensionary.     Iir  1652,  the  first  naval 

war  withiEngland  ieclared,  in  consequence  of  the 

>n  act  \g\kh  Parliament,  which 

n  laws  of  Britain 

the  'Dutch. 

nnd 


^v 


Louis    XIV   of   France   i  ons   eve^ 

Netherlands,  alleging  a  rig:h^  to  then. 
Spanish  wife,  Marin  '  >e  was  checkmated  b} 

the  triple  alliance  jy  John  De  Witt  betwee*^ 

Eneflan^i,  HoH  juondam  enemy,  and  Sweden 


H 


fdU 


th 

Louis  of 

proviii 

by  the  in ' 

Princs 

was 

cousin 


,t  that  very  attack.     De  "*-  sowcver, 

be  ^  engeance  of  the  people,  who  accused 

!in?  ajrainsf  the  stadhouder,  Wil- 
he  provinces.     In 
•vith  HoL 

'  ha  vine:  been  disso 


ib 


nd  in  1688 

ilf,    K  „_.^land.     His 

__.iam  o;  land,  wa?;  elected 


MM. 


■^^M[^: 


:| 


THE  REPUBLIC 

President  of  the  Republic  and  waged  war  with  England 
against  France.  The  war  lasted  for  about  eight  years, 
terminating  in  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  1713.  John's  son, 
William  IV,  followed  as  stadhouder,  and  again  war  with 
England  for  naval  supremacy  ensued.  In  1781,  Hol- 
land lost  most  of  her  colonies,  and  the  French  Republic 
took  possession  of  Holland  in  1795.  The  brother  of 
Napoleon,  Louis  Bonaparte,  was  made  King  in  1805, 
and  five  years  later  Bonaparte  formally  annexed  Hol- 
land under  the  pretext  that  it  was  an  alluvion  of  French 
rivers.  Mention  should  be  made  of  the  memorable  feat 
of  the  French  general  Pichegru  in  capturing  the  frozen- 
up  Dutch  fleet  by  bringing  his  cavalry  over  the  ice.  The 
flight  of  the  stadhouder,  William  V,  to  England  brought 
into  existence  the  Batavian  Republic,  which  with  R.  J. 
Schimmelpennick  as  President  acquired  a  brief  notoriety. 
Louis  Bonaparte,  as  King  of  Holland,  occupied  the 
throne  for  five  years,  during  which  time  Napoleon's 
''Continental  System,"  recoiling  upon  his  own  head, 
brought  commercial  ruin  to  Holland.  Louis  resigned 
the  crown  in  1810,  and  Napoleon  incorporated  Holland 
with  France.  After  his  crushing  defeat  at  Leipsic,  the 
Dutch,  with  the  help  of  Russia  and  Prussia,  the  allies, 
and  England,  swept  the  French  over  the  border,  and 
peace  dawned  again  over  the  distressful  country  after 
Napoleon's  overthrow  at  Waterloo.  The  famous  Lion 
Monument  on  the  battlefield  is  erected  over  the  spot 

261 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

where  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  wounded  while  leading 
his  Nassau  regiment  to  the  charge. 

The  restoration  of  the  House  of  Orange  resulted  in  the 
acceptance  of  the  crown  (1813)  by  William,  the  son  of 
the  exiled  stadhouder,  and  in  1815,  by  the  Vienna  treaty, 
Belgium  was  added  to  the  kingdom,  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  under  the  title  of  William  I,  was  crowned  King 
of  the  Netherlands.  Dissensions,  the  result  of  incom- 
patibility, soon  followed  between  the  Dutch  and  the  Bel- 
gians, the  latter  complaining  of  the  assumption  of  su- 
premacy by  the  Dutch,  and,  furthermore,  objecting  to  the 
compulsory  use  of  the  Dutch  language  replacing  Flemish 
and  the  official  French.  Holland  being  Protestant  and 
loyally  attached  to  the  House  of  Orange,  while  Belgium, 
too  long  subjugated  to  Spain  and  France,  being  anti- 
Orange  and  Roman  Catholic,  separation  resulted.  In 
1830,  the  European  powers,  fearing  further  complica- 
tions, prevailed  upon  Holland  to  accept  the  severance. 
After  ten  years  of  unrest,  the  King  abdicated,  and  Wil- 
liam II  ruled  over  Holland,  with  the  Duchy  of  Luxem- 
burg added  under  the  Vienna  treaty,  from  1840  to  1849, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  William  III.  Princess  Emma 
of  Waldeck  and  Pyrmont  (sister  of  the  Duchess  of  Al- 
bany and  consort  of  William  III)  acted  as  regent  at  her 
husband's  death  and  during  the  minority  of  her  daughter, 
Wilhelmina.  Her  regency  is  held  in  affectionate  re- 
membrance by  the  people  of  Holland.     Wilhelmina  was 

262 


THE  REPUBLIC 

born  on  August  31,  1880,  and  was  crowned  in  1898  amid 
the  rejoicing  of  the  entire  nation.  As  Queen  she  re- 
ceived the  homage  due  to  her  exalted  rank,  but  it  is  as 
Princess  of  Orange  and  in  her  lace  cap  as  a  Frieslander, 
descendant  of  that  race  of  patriots  who  dedicated  their 
fortunes  and  themselves  to  the  salvation  of  Holland, 
that  she  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  her  devoted  subjects.  In 
1901  her  majesty  was  married  to  Henry,  Duke  of  Meck- 
lenburg-Schwerin,  on  whom  she  was  permitted  to  confer 
the  title  of  Prince  Henry  of  the  Netherlands.  One 
should  note  the  fact  that  it  was  because  of  her  exalted 
rank  she  was  forced  by  the  laws  to  propose  marriage  to 
the  Duke.  It  has  been  both  urged  and  denied  that  it 
was  a  love  match.  As  far  as  one  may  judge,  the  attitude 
of  the  Hollander  toward  the  consort  is  one  of  tolerance. 

These  historical  details  are  really  necessary  to  the 
proper  understanding  of  the  pages  which  follow,  as 
showing  the  origin  of  these  remarkable  people,  and  the 
great  influence  which  they  have  wielded  over  civiliza- 
tion. Indeed,  it  would  surprise  some  readers  to  learn 
that  the  best  of  the  laws  of  both  Great  Britain  and 
America  are  derived  from  the  Netherlands,  and  that  the 
two  great  elements  ("The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England, 
and  America,"  Douglas  Campbell)  that  have  con- 
tributed to  make  America  what  it  is  are,  one,  the  civili- 
zation of  ancient  Rome,  with  its  genius  for  government 
and  its  instinct  for  justice  and  equal  rights;  the  other, 

263 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

the  strong  wild  blood  of  the  Germanic  race  with  its 
passion  for  individual  freedom,  which  has  given  its 
nerve,  strength,  and  energy  to  modern  Europe.  The 
first  of  these  elements  was  utterly  extinguished  in  Eng- 
land by  the  Anglo-Saxon  conquest,  while  the  feudal 
system  afterward  came  in  to  rob  the  Germanic  conquerors 
of  many  of  their  early  ideas  regarding  civil  liberty. 

One  country  alone,  Holland,  was  largely  free  from 
this  devastation.  There  the  civilization  of  Rome  was 
never  extinguished,  and  the  feudal  system  took  but 
feeble  root.  The  people  preserved  more  purely  than  any 
others  their  Germanic  ideas  and  institutions,  but  en- 
grafted on  them  the  arts,  the  learning,  and  the  laws  de- 
rived from  communication  with  civilized  and  civilizing 
Italy.  To  the  patriot,  to  the  lover  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  as  well  as  to  the  student  of  art  and  science  in  any 
land,  this  history  of  this  republic  and  country  must  al- 
ways have  a  peculiar  charm.  But  apart  from  its  general 
features,  this  history  is  so  interwoven  with  that  of  Eng- 
land and  America  that  any  one  concerned  with  the  past 
of  either  of  these  countries  will  find  it  a  subject  of  un- 
failing interest.  When  modern  Englishmen  set  out  to 
write  the  history  of  their  country,  they  crossed  the  chan- 
nel and  described  the  Angles  and  the  Saxons  in  their 
early  home  upon  the  continent.  That  home  was  so  near 
the  Netherlands  that  the  people  of  Holland  and  the  con- 
querors of  Britain  spoke  substantially  the  same  language, 

264 


-.•SCR  ,vi?-»;!»i?«3^'«*»'^>"=ifi5»yt-.:'»s'i.' 'JT-Si  ->v>-^T«/;i^vi 


A  Street  in  Leyden 


Ot( 


H^^TT  AND  OF  '^^O  DA\ 


ucrma 


tn 


M^^Tk  Jl  tiV  \^i^^i7^  K 


THE  REPUBLIC 

and  were  almost  of  one  blood.  To  the  Englishman, 
thinking  only  of  the  greatness  of  his  own  land,  this  orig- 
inal relationship  may  seem  sufficient  honor  for  a  tiny 
fragment  of  the  earth's  surface  not  as  large  as  Switzer- 
land, but  it  is  only  the  first  chapter  of  the  story.  For 
hundreds  of  years  in  later  times,  and  until  long  after  the 
settlement  of  America,  the  Netherlands  stood  as  the 
guide  and  instructor  of  England  in  almost  everything 
which  has  made  her  materially  great.  When  the  Refor- 
mation came,  in  which  northwestern  Europe  was  new 
born,  it  was  the  Netherlands  which  led  the  van,  and  for 
eighty  years  waged  the  war  which  disenthralled  the  souls 
of  men.  Out  of  that  conflict,  shared  by  thousands  of 
heroic  Englishmen,  but  in  which  England  as  a  nation 
hardly  had  a  place,  Puritanism  was  evolved — the  Puri- 
tanism which  gave  its  triumph  to  the  Netherlands  Repub- 
lic, and  has  shaped  the  character  of  the  English-speaking 
race. 

In  time  England  came  to  hate  the  benefactor  to  whom 
she  owed  so  much;  thus,  after  the  restoration  of  the 
Stuarts,  and  still  more  after  the  Tory  reaction  which  fol- 
lowed the  Revolution  of  1688,  the  political  writers  about 
the  court  habitually  ridiculed  the  Dutchmen  for  virtues 
which  they  could  not  understand.  (See  Rogers'  "Story 
of  Holland.") 

The  republican  Hollander  deemed  the  attentions  of 
King  or  noble  to  his  wife  or  daughter  a  disgrace.     The 

265 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

courtiers  about  Charles  II  viewed  this  subject  differently, 
and  regarded  the  Dutchman  as  ill-mannered  for  his  want 
of  taste.  Added  to  this  was  the  Hollander's  respect  for 
the  private  rights  of  all  classes;  his  devotion  to  art  and 
learning;  his  love  of  fair  dealing  in  personal  and  in  pub- 
lic matters;  his  industry,  frugality;  and,  finally,  his  uni- 
versal toleration.  No  one  could  deny  the  Dutchmen's 
courage,  for  they  were  among  the  boldest  soldiers  and 
sailors  that  the  world  has  ever  seen;  but  they  were  not 
gentlemen  from  the  aristocratic  point  of  view.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Temple,  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  accomplished 
gentlemen  at  the  court  of  Charles  II,  being  sent  as  ambas- 
sador to  The  Hague,  related  some  of  his  experiences, 
among  others  the  following,  which  illustrates  the  author- 
ity of  woman  in  Holland:  Dining  one  day  with  the 
chief  burgomaster  of  Amsterdam  and  having  a  severe 
cold,  he  noticed  that  every  time  he  spat  on  the  floor  while 
at  table  a  tight,  handsome  wench  stood  in  a  corner  hold- 
ing a  cloth,  got  down  on  her  knees  and  wiped  it  up.  See- 
ing this,  he  turned  to  his  host  and  apologized  for  the 
trouble  which  he  gave,  receiving  the  jocular  response: 
"It  is  well  for  you  that  my  wife  is  not  at  home,  for  she 
would  have  turned  you  out  of  the  house  for  soiling  her 
floor,  although  you  are  the  English  ambassador"  (Doug- 
las Campbell). 

For  art,  for  science,  and  deep  scholarship  no  other  coun- 
try could  be  compared  with  Holland  in  her  palmy  days. 

266 


THE  REPUBLIC 

But  Holland  owed  pre-eminence  in  these  departments 
not  to  an  aristocracy,  nor  even  to  a  monied  class  whose  in- 
herited wealth  led  them  to  abstain  from  business.  The 
men  who  sustained  her  painters  and  musicians,  who  fos- 
tered science  and  broad  learning,  were  the  plain  burghers, 
merchants,  and  manufacturers  in  the  cities,  men  whom 
Queen  Elizabeth  called  "base  mechanics,"  who  worked 
themselves,  and  by  example  or  by  precept  taught  that 
labor  alone  is  honorable. 

James  Geddes,  in  his  "John  De  Witt,"  relates  an  inci- 
dent which  will  show  how  mathematics  were  cultivated 
in  the  Netherlands.  In  1617,  a  young  French  soldier, 
serving  in  the  Dutch  army,  was  passing  through  the 
streets  of  Breda.  A  crowd  was  gathered  on  the  corner, 
and  he  pushed  forward  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  excite- 
ment. Its  members  were  all  studying  a  paper,  posted 
on  the  wall,  and  talking  about  its  contents.  Not  under- 
standing the  language,  he  asked  a  bystander  to  translate 
it  into  French  or  Latin.  The  paper  contained  an  ab- 
struse mathematical  problem,  which  in  this  way  had  been 
submitted  to  the  public  for  solution.  The  soldier  ob- 
tained his  translation,  went  to  his  quarters,  and  in  a  few 
days  after  sent  in  the  correct  answer,  signed  "Descartes." 
This  was  the  introduction  to  the  world  of  the  greatest 
philosopher  and  mathematician  of  the  age,  whose  trans- 
cendant  ability  was  at  once  recognized  in  Holland. 

The  Hollander  has  ever  been  incorruptible.     Never  in 

267 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

war  or  peace,  though  Spain  was  lavish  of  promises  and  a 
master  of  corruption,  was  native  Hollander  bought  with 
gold.  When,  in  1608,  the  Spanish  ambassadors  were  on 
their  way  to  negotiate  a  treaty  at  The  Hague,  they  saw 
eight  or  ten  persons  land  from  a  little  boat,  and,  sitting 
down  on  the  grass,  make  a  meal  of  bread,  cheese,  and 
beer.  ''Who  are  these  travelers?"  said  the  Spaniards  to 
the  peasant.  "They  are  the  deputies  from  the  State,"  he 
answered,  "our  sovereign  lords  and  masters."  "Then  we 
must  make  peace,"  they  cried;  "these  are  not  men  to  be 
conquered." 

It  was  Holland,  also,  which  carefully  and  wisely  en- 
couraged and  maintained  the  freedom  of  trade,  as  may  be 
seen  from  an  incident  which  occurred  so  far  back  as  the 
reign  of  Edward  I  of  England.  That  monarch,  in  a  let- 
ter addressed  to  Robert,  Earl  of  Flanders,  states  that  he 
has  learned  of  an  active  intercourse  carried  on  between 
the  Scotch  and  the  Flemings ;  and  as  the  former  had  taken 
part  with  Robert  Bruce,  who  was  in  rebellion  against  him 
and  excommunicated  by  the  Pope,  he  begged  that  the 
Earl  would  put  a  stop  to  this  intercourse  and  exclude  the 
Scotch  from  his  dominion.  The  Earl's  answer  was  full 
of  respect  for  the  English  King,  whom  he  desired  to 
please,  but  he  said  frankly,  as  to  the  main  question: 
"We  must  not  conceal  it  from  your  majesty  that  our 
country  of  Flanders  is  open  to  all  the  world,  where  every 
person  finds  a  free  admission.     Nor  can  we  take  away  this 

268 


A  Zeeland  Interior 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

war  or  prace,  thon^h  Spain  was  lavish  of  promises  and  a 
master  (  was  native  Hollander  bought 

gold.  he  Spanish  ambassadors  were  on 

their  cgotiate  a  treaty  at  The  Hague,  they  saw 

.  Ders<^r"  land  from  -  bont.  nnd.  =;ir<^-ir!<7 


which  ...;<  .  ..:ij 
i  the  freedom  of  i... 
hich  occurred  so  far  . 
rt  ■  ]  n.  I      That  m'^^"»  'T'^^ 

r<  >v...v .  >-  t  Flander, .     .*.v 

^'^^'  ^nr^^  carried  on  be,   .  .. 

^he  former  had  taken 

^^^^]  ion  against  him 


of  r<o|. 


il  H„'>1  V       l.ljfli       «  M  ; 


"^tr>  VM  »  lui.v.vi-^  lo  ^'^  rid,  wbr*-''  ^^ 

■r  f '^''•^  -^  •f'-'-"  ••--»"--  ■•  Tike  Av^ 


THE  REPUBLIC 

privilege  from  persons  concerned  in  commerce  without 
bringing  ruin  and  destruction  upon  our  country.  If  the 
Scotch  go  to  our  ports  and  our  subjects  go  to  theirs,  it  is 
neither  the  intention  of  ourselves  or  our  subjects  to  en- 
courage them  in  their  error,  but  only  to  carry  on  our  traffic 
without  taking  any  part  with  them."  This  was  always 
the  policy  of  the  Netherland  States  and  the  Dutch  Re- 
public. 

In  an  article  on  Leyden  University  by  Prof.  W.  T. 
Hewett  in  Harper  s  Magazine  for  March,  1881,  Prof. 
Hewett,  himself  a  student  at  this  famous  university,  in 
common  with  every  intelligent  observer  who  has  lived  in 
Holland,  was  much  struck  with  the  similarity  between 
the  Dutch  and  the  American  modes  of  thought.  He  says : 
*'The  Dutch  mind  is  more  like  the  American  in  its  method 
of  thought  than  is  that  of  any  other  nation  of  the  conti- 
nent. There  is  the  same  intensity  of  feeling  on  all  re- 
ligious questions,  the  same  keen  practical  genius.  The 
purpose  of  the  Hollander  is  direct.  The  Hollander 
understands  American  and  republican  institutions  and 
their  true  foundations  in  the  intelligence  and  self-control 
of  the  people.  I  have  always  felt  sure  of  being  under- 
stood when  speaking  with  an  educated  Hollander, 
whether  discussing  church  and  state  or  our  political  ques- 
tions. He  could  rightly  estimate  the  real  and  unreal 
dangers  which  attend  democratic  governments,  as  our 
English  cousins  are  not  always  in  the  habit  of  doing." 

269 


JDtttcb  M^n 


JT  is  a  curious  but  interesting  fact  that  the  revival 
of  the  silversmith's  art  in  the  Netherlands  should 
largely  have  been  brought  about  by  the  demands  of 
American  collectors,  and  all  within  the  last  twenty-five 
years.  And  now,  I  am  credibly  informed,  there  are  cer- 
tain factories  operated  in  New  Jersey  which  can  turn  you 
out  fairly  made  reproductions  of  the  antique  specimens 
of  the  Leeuwarden  silversmiths,  and  which  are  doubtless 
often  sold  to  the  unwary  as  genuine.  One  of  the  dealers 
grinned  when  I  taxed  him  with  the  imposition,  and  with  a 
shrug  rejoined,  "Well — the  rest  do  it,  why  shouldn't  I*?" 
It  is  difficult  to  specify  the  "ear-marks"  of  fraudulent 
antique  Dutch  silver,  for  it  is  said  these  unscrupulous 
traders  can  furnish  one  with  anything  for  which  there  is 
sufficient  demand — and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  more  than 
half  of  the  so-called!  "antique"  spoons  owned  in  America 
are  spurious.  There  are,  of  course,  honorable  merchants 
in  the  business  whose  word  may  be  unhesitatingly  ac- 
cepted, but  even  in  Amsterdam  there  are  factories  turning 
out  these  "antiques"  to  order,  all  bearing  the  "authentic" 
marks  and  stamps,  and  there  is  no  law  apparently  to  stop 
them. 

270 


DUTCH  SILVER 

Leeuwarden  in  Friesland  seems  to  have  been  the 
headquarters  for  the  silver  workers  of  the  XV th,  XVIth 
and  XVIIth  centuries,  and  from  this  locality  came  the  best 
of  the  magnificent  ships  at  present  in  the  museums  of 
Europe.  The  picture  herewith  shows  a  notable  one  of 
four  masts,  and  full  rigged  with  square  sails  and  yards, 
the  decks  thronged  with  sailors  who  are  working  the  six 
guns,  while  between  the  main  and  mizzen  masts  rises  a 
castellated  structure  of  five  stages,  from  which  the  ad- 
miral directed  the  battle.  On  the  sides  are  repousse 
scenes  showing  amphitrites  charioted,  drawn  by  conven- 
tional sea-horses.  This  specimen  is  evidently  intended 
for  a  wine-bottle  holder,  is  mounted  on  wheels,  and  is 
nearly  twenty-five  inches  in  height.  It  bears  upon  the 
sails  the  coat-of-arms  of  some  royal  personage,  and  was 
evidently  made  as  a  presentation-piece.  The  foresail 
appears  to  be  modern,  for  it  bears  a  nondescript  device 
differing  from  the  rest,  and  is  most  unheraldic.  This  is 
a  very  fair  sample  of  the  silversmiths*  art  of  Leeuwarden 
in  the  XVIIth  century,  although  there  are  many  in  exist- 
ence, notably  in  the  vast  collection  of  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  which  are  much  larger  and  more  elaborate  in 
detail  and  ornamentation. 

These  ships  were  not  always  intended  for  use  as  wine- 
bottle  holders ;  many  specimens  were  intended  simply  for 
ornaments,  and  these  are  variously  mounted  on  stands  or 
rockers  instead  of  wheels,  and  vary  in  size  from  three 

271 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

inches  in  height  to  three  feet.  Some  of  these  are  here 
pictured  in  various  rigs,  from  that  of  a  fishing  smack  to  a 
sloop-of-war.  After  the  victory  of  Tromp,  who  "swept 
the  sea,"  there  was  a  great  demand  upon  the  smiths  of 
Friesland  for  battleships,  and  it  was  during  this  period 
that  most  of  these  notable  examples  were  made.  The 
activity  of  these  Leeuwarden  silver  workers  was  phe- 
nomenal. There  seems  to  have  been  a  guild  established 
early  in  the  XVth  century,  under  the  authority  of  one  of 
the  dukes,  and  a  provincial  governor  was  appointed  in 
the  person  of  one  Petrus  Eggers,  who  was  originally  a 
die  cutter  or  sinker,  and  able  to  use  the  metal  appar- 
ently as  a  sculptor.  His  works  were  soon  in  great  de- 
mand among  the  nobles.  He  was  able  to  cut  his  molds 
with  such  excellence  that  his  castings  required  a  minimum 
of  finishing.  He  attracted  to  himself  many  pupils,  who 
in  turn  became  famous  workers,  and  soon  the  craft  became 
most  powerful,  and  was  able  to  make  laws  restricting  the 
output  to  the  actual  members  of  the  guild.  We  now  find 
the  guild  ordering  that  all  silver  brought  into  the  town 
should  be  stamped  with  the  device  of  the  founder.  This 
rule  extended  to  other  towns  eventually.  The  guild 
then  ordered  that  only  two  qualities  of  metal  be  allowed, 
a  fine  and  a  coarse,  the  latter  to  contain  not  more  than  20 
per  cent,  of  base  metal, — all  silver  on  sale  in  the  city  to 
be  brought  to  the  guild  for  assaying,  and  the  quality  to 
be  fixed  and  stamped.     Wardens  were  appointed  to 

272 


Model  of  Warship  in  Silver  Repousse 


lies  in 


cutter 

vnvy  . 

vv:=.h  ?i 

ot  t; 


OF  TO-rvAV 


Varaens 


DUTCH  SILVER 

search  for  bad  work  and  spurious  metal,  which  could  be 
confiscated,  and  the  importation  of  metal  was  restricted 
to  the  guild.  No  foreigner  was  allowed  to  practice  or 
be  taught  the  craft.  Every  seller  was  to  mark  his  ware 
with  a  private  mark  or  "touch,"  which  mark  was  kept  in 
the  custody  of  the  guild.  As  the  demand  for  silver  grew, 
other  branch  guilds  were  established  in  neighboring 
towns,  all  allied  to  the  parent  or  mother  corporation. 
There  was  formed  a  Guild  of  Hammermen,  which  com- 
prised all  the  trades  that  used  the  hammer  in  their  work. 
It  became  a  powerful  body,  and  its  members  played  no 
small  part  in  the  history  of  the  region. 

To  the  collector  of  silver  the  marks  stamped  upon  the 
silver  of  the  period  have  been  more  or  less  of  a  sealed 
book,  for  the  loss  of  the  "touch  stamps"  and  the  dearth 
of  authentic  information  on  the  subject  have  put  obsta- 
cles in  the  way  of  many  who  might  wish  to  decipher  the 
meaning  of  the  marks.  Some  of  the  more  prominent  and 
usual  marks  or  stamps,  to  enumerate  only  a  few,  are :  A 
lion  and  a  key,  with  a  large  Gothic  A  in  a  square;  L.o. 
and  a  lion  rampant;  a  crowned  tulip,  octagon  stamp;  A 
stork;  A  mermaid;  A  fish;  Two  small  figures  standing 
hand  in  hand.  The  Hall  mark,  so-called — or  state  guar- 
antee, is  a  Netherland  lion  rampant,  so  I  am  informed  by 
an  authority.  These  marks  are  to  be  found  generally  on 
the  back  of  the  pieces,  but  it  must  be  remarked  that  these 
devices  will  mean  little  to  the  collector,  for  they  are  and 

273 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

will  be  imitated  as  long  as  there  is  a  demand  for  the  arti- 
cles. The  quantity  of  articles  and  objects  made  by  the 
silversmiths  in  this  period  is  simply  astounding,  and  the 
artistic  variety  and  invention  displayed  must  always  be 
a  matter  of  wonderment.  Happily  the  museums  are  re- 
plete with  the  objects,  so  that  there  is  little  need  for  new 
invention.  The  guilds  and  their  restrictions  have  long 
since  passed  away,  and  now  we  find  the  factories  in  Am- 
sterdam and  the  larger  cities  reproducing  these  designs 
with  considerable  fidelity,  and  supplying  the  bric-a-brac 
shops  with  reproductions,  which  certainly  should  be  sold 
as  such.  Unhappily  this  is  not  the  case.  But  the  astute 
collector  is  on  his  guard,  so  that  it  is  generally  only  the 
innocent  *  nouveaux"  who  are  deceived.  One  article  I 
find  offered  for  sale  in  most  of  the  shops  is  the  figure  of  a 
woman  standing,  her  dress  forming,  when  inverted,  a 
drinking  cup.  Her  arms  are  usually  held  above  her  head 
and  clasp,  sometimes  a  crown,  sometimes  a  sort  of  can- 
delabra. This  is  not  Dutch,  but  Niirnberg  work.  The 
Dutch  inverted  cup,  it  should  be  noted,  has  either  a  wind- 
mill or  a  ship  surmounting  it. 

The  cream  jug  in  the  form  of  a  cow  is  frequently  met 
with.  The  form  with  the  tail  curled  up  over  the  back 
as  a  handle  is  said  to  be  the  earlier  example — while  the 
stork  as  a  perfume  bottle,  the  head  hinged,  belongs  to  the 
same  period.  Of  spoons  and  forks  the  variety  is  unlim- 
ited apparently,  the  most  usual  designs  being  the  stork, 

274 


DUTCH  SILVER 

windmill,  and  the  ship  of  one  sail.  The  ones  sur- 
mounted by  the  figure  of  a  milkmaid  with  yoke  and  pend- 
ant pails  are,  I  think,  quite  modern.  Apostle  spoons  are 
quite  common  in  the  shops,  but  they  too,  almost  invari- 
ably, are  modern,  and  generally  of  German  origin. 
Strangely  enough,  in  those  spoons  surmounted  with  a 
crown,  the  latter  is  generally  of  Russian  form,  and  not 
Dutch,  although  cresting  the  Lion  of  the  Netherlands. 
Sometimes  the  shield  will  bear  simply  three  XXX  ar- 
ranged vertically,  and  this  is  supposed  to  represent  the 
arms  conventional  of  windmills  on  the  shield  of  Amster- 
dam. I  am  convinced  that  this  is  a  very  modern  design. 
Of  the  small  cabinet  objects,  there  is  a  bewildering  va- 
riety, of  sleighs,  with  and  without  figures;  cabinets,  bu- 
reaus, chairs,  settees,  clocks,  carriages,  tables,  cheese  car- 
riers, horsemen,  soldiers,  and  a  thousand  other  objects,  all 
tiny  and  exquisitely  and  quaintly  wrought. 

I  saw  once  a  complete  set  of  the  Kermis  in  miniature — 
with  the  tents,  showmen,  merry-go-rounds  and  peasants 
all  complete.  Models  of  the  churches  are  sometimes 
found,  as  well  as  miniature  farms  complete  to  the  small- 
est details  of  the  dog  chained  to  his  kennel,  and  there  are 
also  the  weigh-houses,  and  city  gates,  such  as  shown  in 
the  picture.  The  Zeeland  belt  clasps  of  repousse  work 
are,  as  a  rule,  genuine,  there  being  small  demand  for 
them  except  among  the  peasantry.  They  are  usually 
Biblical  in  design — representing  Adam  and  Eve,  Re- 

275 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

becca  at  the  well,  or  some  such  characters.  They  may 
be  had  at  Middelburg  in  Walcheren,  and  cost  fifteen  or 
twenty  dollars  on  market  days.  The  would-be  collector 
would  better  beware  of  the  lozenge  boxes,  for  these  have 
been  in  great  demand,  and  have  been  reproduced  in  enor- 
mous quantities,  stamped  from  dies.  The  same  may  be 
urged  as  to  the  tea-caddy.  Of  course,  this  warning  is 
only  for  the  would-be  collector.  For  the  householder, 
who  cares  not  for  authenticity,  these  objects  of  substitu- 
tion and  commerce  are  pretty,  and  generally  of  better 
design  than  those  of  the  frankly  modern  silversmith. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  H.  Koopman  for 
the  photographs  of  Dutch  silver  in  illustration  of  this 
chapter. 


276 


Six  Rare  Examples  of  Sleighs  in  Silver 


F  VD  OF  TO-DAY 

becca  r'  >nn:  .>ii  u  k.uaractei: 


be 

IVV 


-.    T"^'.. 


■   '  1-. 


ir.  11.  xvuopraan  lor 
"'ustratiop 


•^vjW?^  kv  >.A^b\?.  \c>  ?.'i\<\mfty.^  'i-\to5l  v\Z 


"tot  Wmm" 

aND  now  the  author  must  take  leave  of  his  beloved 
Holland,  and  of  his  reader  likewise.  If  by  what 
he  has  read  herein  the  latter  is  induced  to  discover 
the  Netherlands  for  himself,  I  wish  him  all  the  pleasure 
and  profit  which  I  know  awaits  him  there,  and  if  he  be 
able,  as  the  poet  puts  it, 

"To  descry  abundant  worth  in  trivial  commonplace," 

a  double  pleasure  will  be  his. 

Whether  he  chooses,  with  Hazlitt,  to  travel  alone,  or 
prefers,  like  Sterne,  *'to  have  a  companion,  were  it  but 
to  remark  how  the  shadows  lengthen  as  the  sun  declines," 
is  for  himself  to  decide,  but  in  any  event  no  one  can 
appreciate  the  sterling  character  of  the  Hollander,  his 
high  ideals  and  his  attainments,  until  he  has  seen  the 
wonderful  country  which  he  has  created  and  made  to 
prosper  in  the  face  of  almost  insurmountable  difficulties. 
The  superficial  observer  will  perhaps  not  see  as  much  of 
the  expected  bizarre,  or  the  amphibious  element  at  which 
many  writers  have  waxed  witty,  as  he  has  been  led  to 
expect.  He  will  perhaps  find  that  the  people  move  more 
slowly  and  deliberately  than  his  standard  demands ;  that 

277 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

there  are  not  enough  of  the  quaint  costumes,  of  which  he 
has  read  so  much,  to  be  seen  in  the  large  centers,  to  satisfy 
his  sense  of  the  picturesque;  but  for  him  whose  eyes  are 
open  to  the  glory  of  attainment  and  the  greatness  of  art, 
whose  mind  is  attuned  to  effects  of  environment  upon  the 
development  of  character,  who  can  appreciate  the  brave 
and  successful  attempts  of  a  people  grown  out  of  the  very 
soil  to  ameliorate  sorrow,  poverty  and  suffering  and  who 
have  succeeded  in  spite  of  adverse  conditions  and  climate 
in  establishing  an  almost  ideal  form  of  civilization  and 
government,  I  say  no  land  has  so  much  to  offer  as  little 
Holland.     As  the  poet  says — 

"What  land  is  this  that  seems  to  be 
A  mingling  of  the  land  and  sea? 
This  land  of  sluices,  dykes,  and  dunes? 
This  water-net  that  tessellates 
The  landscape?     This  unending  maze 
Of  gardens,  through  whose  latticed  gates 
The  imprisoned  pinks  and  tulips  gaze; 
Where  in  long  summer  afternoons 
The  sunshine,  softened  by  the  haze, 
Comes  streaming  down  as  through  a  screen; 
Where  over  fields  and  pastures  green 
The  painted  ships  float  high  in  air, 
And  over  all  and  everywhere 
The  sails  of  windmills  sink  and  soar. 
Like  wings  of  sea-gulls  on  the  shore?" 

It  is  all  wonderful,  and  I  take  leave  with  much  tender- 
ness of  the  flower-decked  plains  of  Haarlem,  the  splendid 

278 


"TOT  WEERSIENS" 

golden  helmets  of  Friesland,  the  sad-colored  dunes  with 
the  waving  greenish-gray  grass,  the  blue-bloused  solitary 
sheep-herder  of  the  Drenthe,  the  skies  above  piled  high 
with  mighty  cumulous  clouds  ready  to  spill  over  their 
silver  showers  at  any  moment,  and  the  waving  arms  of 
the  busy  mills  dotting  the  waterways.  My  mind  dwells 
upon  the  great  painters — Hobbema,  the  Van  Rhyns,  de 
Hooch,  the  Ruysdaels,  Metsu  and  Hals ;  the  great  schol- 
ars, Grotius  and  Erasmus ;  great  William  of  the  house  of 
Orange  and  his  valiant  Admiral  Tromp;  and  Wilhel- 
mina,  the  beloved  Queen ;  and  so, 

"TotWeersiensI" 

The  Author. 
New  York  March,  1909. 


279 


P00t0rri0t 


V^  OW  that  this  new  edition  of  "Holland  of  To-day," 
III  which  I  have  revised  very  carefully,  is  to  be  pub- 
^^^  lished  in  a  new  and  larger  form,  and  with  addi- 
tional colorplates  from  paintings  made  during  my  latest 
visit  to  this  most  charming  and  unique  country,  I  have  re- 
ceived from  a  valued  Netherlands  friend  a  very  urgent 
and  most  earnest  request  that  I  write  a  Postscript  to  my 
"Tot  Weersiens,"  (for  which  he  thanks  me,)  asking  that  I 
make  even  more  clear  to  my  readers,  the  fact  that  the 
people  of  the  Netherlands  are  not  at  all  the  Freaks  that 
(what  he  calls)  "the  most  absurd  picture  postcards,"  col- 
lected by  tourists,  make  them  appear  to  be. 

"Let  me  beg  of  you,  Mynheer,"  he  asks,  "to  tell  your 
readers  that  all  Dutchmen  are  not  Volendam  or  Marken 
fishermen,  and  also  that  most  certainly  all  Dutchwomen 
are  not  coarse,  red-cheeked,  purple-armed,  pigeon-toed 
milkwomen,  carrying  on  their  shoulders  great  green 
wooden  yokes  from  which  are  suspended  polished  brass 
milk  cans. 

That  no  Dutch  man  or  woman  "Yodles." 
That  Dutch  towns  and  cities  do  not  consist  alone  of 
narrow   lanes  and  streets  closed  at  one  end  by  tall 

280 


POSTSCRIPT 

thatched  windmills,  with  red-roofed,  one-story  wooden 
houses  painted  fantastically  yellow  and  green,  behind 
little  boxed  gardens,  approached  by  ''cute"  bridges  over 
narrow  ditches,  and  lined  by  trees  quaintly  trimmed  and 
cut  into  the  semblance  of  birds  and  animals.  That  the 
horizon  is  not  always  bounded  by  hundreds  of  red,  white 
and  blue  whirling  windmills.  That  there  are  other 
flowers  besides  tulips.  That  the  visitor  in  the  streets  of 
Amsterdam  or  The  Hague  will  not  be  stared  out  of  coun- 
tenance by  lines  of  wondering  peasants,  clad  in  wide  vel- 
veteen knickerbockers  and  great  wooden  shoes.  That 
Dutchmen  do  not  carry  about  huge  clay  "churchwarden" 
pipes,  nor  smoked  herring  in  their  pockets.  That  Dutch- 
women do  not  ever  wear  two  long  yellow  braids  hanging 
down  their  backs.  That  they  do  not  wear  wooden  shoes. 
That  wooden  shoes  are  not  called  "sabots"  in  Holland. 
That  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  are  not  living  illus- 
trations of  anachronistic  anecdotes  ever  clad  in  theatrical 
costume,  and  always  dancing  at  sunset,  hand  in  hand  in 
the  streets  and  squares  of  The  Hague  and  Rotterdam,  or 
on  the  sands  of  Scheveningen.  That  the  Queen  does  not 
wear  the  Marken  costume.  That  all  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands  do  not  still  dwell  in  fantastic  peak-roofed 
houses  raised  high  above  the  waters  on  piles,  or  dwell  in 
sixteenth  century  interiors,  with  leaded  window  panes, 
and  sit  about  blazing  peat  fires  in  richly  carved  and  blue- 
tiled  chimney  places,  with  the  brass  chandeliers  ablaze 

281 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

with  dripping  wax  or  tallow  candles  suspended  from  the 
highly  polished  and  raftered  ceilings ;  with  interiors  fur- 
nished with  arrays  of  luxurious  cupboards  and  carved 
cabinets  of  inlaid  mother  of  pearl  and  marquetry, 
crammed  with  priceless  Delft  blue  china,  and  apostle 
spoons.  Or  that  brass  bound  pigskin  covered  "Elzevirs" 
represent  their  only  literary  or  spiritual  food. 

That  all  Dutch  people  do  not  drink  gin. 

That  there  are  certainly  other  means  of  travel  in  the 
Netherlands  than  man-towed  or  horse-drawn  antique 
canal  boats,  and  stage  coaches.  Nor  do  they  use  carrier 
pigeons  or  storks  as  messengers. 

That  the  Dutch  people  themselves  are  as  immensely 
entertained  by  the  quaintness  of  certain  of  the  far-away 
villages  and  their  costumes,  as  are  the  tourists  who  search 
them  out. 

Alluring  and  attractive  as  these  customs  are  to  the 
villages  and  their  customs,  as  are  the  tourists  who  search 
stranger,  the  people  of  the  Netherlands,  hitherto  occupied 
with  their  own  affairs,  have  awakened  suddenly  to  the 
fact  that  the  world  is  inclined  to  judge  them  and  their 
accomplishments  in  the  light  of  an  opera  bouffe  perform- 
ance, and  not  to  be  taken  at  all  seriously.  They  are 
shocked  at  this  discovery.     They  resent  this  summing  up. 

As  a  step  in  the  right  direction  (so  they  have  decided) 
the  celebration  of  the  most  picturesque  fete,  the  Kermis, 

282 


Krommenie — Over  the  Teacups 


.MJ  OF  TO-DAY 

iUow  candles  suspended  from 

raftered  ceilings ;  with  interiors  f ur- 

iys  of  luxurious  cupboards  and  carved 

t  inlaid    mothrr    of  and   marquetry, 

h  pric'  and  apostle 

Elzevirs" 


i-towed  or  horse-drawn  ant; 

r  do  thry  use  carrier 

Ives  are  as  immensely 

of  certain  of  the  far-awa} 

;nes,  as  arc  the  tourists  who  search 

ive  as  these  customs  arc  to  the 

ms,  as  arc  the  tourists  who  search 

he  Netherlands,  hitherto  occupied 

ve  awakened  suddenly  to  the 

i  to  judge  them  and  * 

ryftn  boiiffe  p 


ection  (so  they  have  d. 
the  celebration  of  ti  picturesque  fete,  the  Kermis, 

282 


POSTSCRIPT 

is  forbidden  in  the  large  cities.  This  is  a  great  blow  to 
the  peasants  and  the  *'Boer"  or  farmer,  but  the  law  is 
to  be  enforced. 

"The  Netherlands"  (continues  my  friend),  "is  quite 
different  in  reality.  The  country,  though  small  in  area, 
is  an  entirely  earnest,  unsentimental,  and  most  up-to- 
date  nation.  It  wishes  to  be  better  understood,  even 
if  it  does  reluctantly  have  to  relinquish  year  by  year  some 
one  or  more  of  its  archaic,  long  cherished  and  time  hon- 
ored customs. 

The  Dutch  are  an  intensely  ambitious,  serious  minded, 
and  commercial  people,  who  are  animated  with  a  desire  to 
maintain  Holland's  prestige  and  her  monopolies  in  the 
international  markets. 

They  arc  a  highly  scientific  people  as  well,  and  among 
other  accomplishments  have  developed  the  art  of  agri- 
culture to  the  highest  degree.  They  excel  in  engineer- 
ing. Their  cattle  breeding  serves  as  a  model  for  the 
world,  and  their  ancient  culture  which  long  led  the  world 
still  maintains  a  foremost  position.  Their  universities 
are  world  famed.  That,  in  short,  "the  people  of  the 
Netherlands  are  entirely  and  fully  'up  to  date,'  and  desire 
to  be  so  considered." 

In  all  of  this  I  most  fully  and  heartily  agree,  and  I 
hope  that  my  readers  will  find  these  sentiments,  and  my 
affectionate  admiration  for  both  the  people  and  the  coun- 

283 


HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 

try,  written  clearly  between  the  lines  of  these  apprecia- 
tive and  discriminating  chapters,  which  were  written 
"con  amore"  more  than  ten  years  ago. 

The  Author. 
Greenwich,  Conn.,  1919. 


284 


INDEX 


"Aanspreker,"  219 

Advertising  billboards,  239 

Aertz,  111 

Alkmaar,  Almshouse,  the,  141 

the  Cheese  Market,  140 
"         siege  of  by  the  Spanish, 

142 
"         the  Weigh  House,  142 

Alva,  Duke  of,  141,  238,  256,  357 

Amalia  of  Solms^  Princess,  206 

Ameland,  243 

Amerongen  Castle,  11,  18 

Amersfoort,  190 

Amstel  river,  the,  37 

Amsterdam,  29,  56,  120 
"  Aquarium,  39 

"  Bagijnhoff,  38 

*'  the  Beurs,   120 

"  charitable      institutions 

of,  128 
"  "Dam,"  the,  37,   120 

**  financial  center,  the,  36 

**  Gare  Centrale,  37 

"  Kalverstraat,    the,    38, 

122 
**  Little    Courtyard,    the, 

38 
"  Nieuwe  Kerk,  38 

"  Orphanage,  the,  39 

Oude  Kerk,  39 
"  Palais  Royal,  37,  121 

Pyl-Steeg,  185 
*'  Rembrandt    Plein,    38, 

120,  124 
"  Rijks  Museum^  128 


Amsterdam,  St.    Anthony's    Weigh- 
house,  128 
State  Theater,  39 
Sumptuous  houses,  36 
Tea  gardens,   185 
Theaters,  184 
Weeper's  Tower,  127 
Zoological  Garden,  39 

Antwerp,  15,  56 

Arminius,  169 

Art,  Ancient  and  Modern,  67 

Artist  Colonies,  190 

Assen,  56 

Automobiles,  205 

Barneveld,   John   Van   Olden,   258, 

259 
Batavia,  253 

Batavian  Republic,  the,  261 
"Battle  of  Waterloo,"  Pieneman,  73 
Beggars  of  the  Sea,  the,  257 
Belgium,  annexation  of,  262 

"         demand   for  Dutch  Terri- 
tory by,  16 

"         refugees  from,  30 
Bergen-opzoom,  109 
Beukelszoof,  177 
Biervliet,  177 
Binnerwaarden,  the,  158 
Blake,  Admiral,  179 
Boats,  192,  227,  229,  232 

"       passenger,  191 
Boer,  9,  155,  222 
Boer  War,  the,  13 
Bol,  Ferdinand,  70,  ill 


285 


INDEX 


Bolsward,  237,  238,  240 
Bonaparte,  Louis,  261,  294 

"  Napoleon,   57,   88,    190, 

261 
Bookshops,  43 
Bosboom,  34 
Boswell,  James,  170 
Boys,  One  of  the,  246 
Boyland's  Museum,  72 
Brand,  ballad  by,  21 
Brassware,  195 
Bredius,  Doctor,  33 
Broek,  129 

Brouwer,  Adriaen,  70 
Bruce,  Robert,  268 
Building  methods  in  Holland,  40 
Burges,  15 
"By  Land  and  Sea,"  160 

Caine,  Hall,  43 

Cambridge  University,  169 

Campbell,  Douglas,  "The  Puritan  in 
Holland,  England  and  America," 
263,  266 

Canals,  45,  118,  191 

Cape  Horn,  148 

Cattle  trade,  240 

Cats,  Jacob,  44 

Cecil,  Sir  Robert,  180 

"Character  of  Holland,  The,"  An- 
drew Marvel,  64 

Characteristics  of  the  Dutch  People, 
46,  90 

Charlemagne,  242,  253 

Charles  the  Bold,  254 

Charles  the  First,  44,  58 

Charles  H,  58,  128,  266 

Charles  V,  King  of  Spain,  255 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  88 

Chimes,  Church  of  St.  Jacques,  209 

Church  services,  220 


Claas,  Haasje,  40 

Climate  of  Holland,  48 

Clubs,  77 

Coen,  Pieter,  148 

Coinage  of  Holland,  49,  52 

Colonies,  56 

Corelli,  Marie,  43 

Coster  of  Haarlem,  58 

Crown  Prince  of  Germany,  166 

CuUinan,  Diamond,  the,  124,  125 

Cuyp,  Albert,  68,  70,  111 

Dc  Bossu,  Admiral, 

de  Hooch,  Pieter,  69,  70,  1 14 

de  Keyser,  Hendrik,  179,  182 

De  Ruyter,  Admiral,  87,  259,  260 

de  Witt,  Brothers,  35,  208,  209,  214, 

260 
de  Witt,  John,  259,  260 
de  Witt  (painter),  206 
Delft,  180 

"       Museum  Van  Mecrton,  181 

"       Nieuwe  Kerk,  180,  182 

"       Oude  Kerk,  179 

"       pottery  and  porcelain,  178 
Delftshaven,  176 
Delph,  J.  W.,  180 
Descartes,  169,  267 
Dokkum,  243 
Domburg,  108 
Don  Frederick,  August,  142 
Dort,  196 

"      Bellevue,  The,  109 

"      Groot  Hoofd  Poort,  The,  iio 

"     Groot'  Kirk,  The,  no 

"      history  of,  109 

"      Picture  Gallery,  no 

"      quaint  houses  of,  109 

"     Synod  of,  1  n 
Dou,  Gerard,  34,  69,  70,  207 
Doughty  ("Friesland  Mercs"),  231 


286 


INDEX 


Doyle,  Sir  Conan,  43 

Drenthe,  56,  167 

Dress,  138 

Dreyfus,  13 

Drug  Stores,  187 

Dutch  East  Indies,  148 

Dutch  Go-Cart,  A,  78 

Dutch  people,  characteristics  of,  46, 

90 
"       dress  of,  90 

pro-Ally      in      senti- 
ment, 9 
"       love  of  freedom,   18, 
57 
love  of  justice,  13 
use  of  tobacco  by,  91 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the,  52 
Dutch  Republic,  The,  Motley,  18 
Dutch  School  of  painting,  the,  67, 

73 
Dutch  Trading  Company,  64 
Dykes,  47,  57 

East  India  Company,  the,  178,  183 
Edam,  138,  224 

Museum,  the,  139 
Edward  I  of  England,  268 
Eggers,  Petrus,  272 
Egmont,  Count,  256 
Emma  of  Waldeck,  Regent,  262 
Emperor  of  Japan,  206 
England,  88 

"         War  with,  260 
English,  use  of,  220 
Enkhuizen,  166,  224  '^ 

An  Interior,  68 
Erasmus,  58,  63,  114 
Exports,  52 


Fen  District,  167 
Fielding,  Henry,  169 


First  International  Peace  Confer- 
ence, 205 

Fisheries,  176,  199 

Fishermen,  198 

Flinck,  Govert,  70 

Flushing   (Vlissingen),    15,  87 

Food,  91,  218 

Frederick  Henry,  Prince,  206 

Free  Frisians,  149 

French,  use  of,  220 

French  Occupancy  of  Holland,  26 1 

Friesland,  56,  150,  154,  224,  253, 
254 

Geddes,   James    ("John  de   Witt"), 

267 
Gerhard,  Balthasar,  178 
German  envy  of  Holland,  214 

language,  212 

Ocean,  212 
Germans,  hatred  of,  9 
Gevangenpoort,  35,  204,  208 
Goes,  108,  112 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  65,  169 
Gromarus,  169 
(xorkum.  Old  Houses,  260 
Gouda,  62,  115 
Granville,  255,  256 
Great  Britain,  212 
Great   Privilege,   The    (the   Magna 

Charta  of  Holland),  254 
Groningen,  56,  167,   171 
Groningen  University,  169 
Groote  Kerk  of  St.  Stephen,  61 
Grotius,  58,  169,  180  • 
Grouw,  240 
Guelderland,  56 
Guicciardini,  152 

Haarlem,  162 

"        Amsterdam     Gate,      162, 
166 


287 


INDEX 


Haarlem,  great  organ  of,  63 
"         Groote  Kerk,  164 
"         Horticultural  Society,  161 
Hague,  The,  29,  32,  33,  35,  56,  204, 
209 
"  "     Baron  Steen,  204 

"  "     Bibliotheque       Royale, 

208 
"     Binnenhof,  35,  208 
"     Buitenhof,  35 
"  "     Communal       Museum, 

207 
"  "     Church  of  St.  Jacques, 

209 
"  "     Gemeente  Museum,  34 

"  "     Gevangenpoort,          35> 

204,  208 
"     Gracht's    Picture    Gal- 
lery, 204 
"  "     Huls    ten    Bosch,    the, 

56,  204,  206 
"  "     Mauritshuis,  204 

**  "     Mesdag  Museum,  204 

"  "     Municipal        Museum, 

204 
"         "     Palace  of  Peace,  209 
"     Royal  Library,  34 
"     Salle  Historique,  208 
"     storks,  186 
"  "     Vijver,  the,  204 

"     "Viverberg,"  35 
"     Willemspark,  36 
Hals,  Franz,  13,  34,  70,  162,  207,  216 
Hammermen,  Guild  of,  273 
Harderwijk,   190 
Harlingen,  168,  238 
Hazlitt,  William,  277 
Headdress,  155,  172,  195,  242 

"  native,   worn   by   Queen 

Wilhelmina,  212 
Heeg,  229 


Hein,  Admiral  Piet,  179 

Helder,  the.  Foreword,  48 

Henry,  Prince  Consort,   10,   15,  33, 
208,  210,  215,  263 

Henry  H,  257 

Henry  the  Silent,  206 

Hertogenbosch,  56 

Hewett,  Professor  W.  T.,  269 

Hilversum,  190 

Hindeloopen,  154,  235,  236,  256 

"  Little  Green  Staircase, 

The,  236 

Hobbema,  70 

Hohenzollern,  William,  Foreword,  18 

Holbein,  207 

Holland,  bookshops  in,  43 

"         building  methods  in,  40 
"         Coinage  in,  49,  52 
"         during  the  war,  30 
"         foreign    mistakes    concern- 
ing, 280 
"         military  defense  of,  31,  51 
"         North,  29 
"         South,  29 
"         tobacco,  use  of,  40 
"         wealth  of,  14 

"The  Hollow  Land,"  86 

Hoorn,  148,  149 

The  Old  Tower   (Frontis- 
piece) 

Horn,  256 

Horse-racing,  241 

Hospitality,  194 

Hotels,  90,  122 

Houdecoeter,  70 

"House  in  the  Wood,"  56,  204,  206 

House  of  Orange,  restoration  of,  262 

Hudson,  Hendrik,  the  Half  Moon,  182 

Huis     ten     Bosch     (House    in    the 
Wood),  56,  204,  206 

Huygens,  Constantine,  45 


288 


INDEX 


Ijilst,  231,  234 

"      Windmill  near,  232 

Imports,  51 

Inventions,  58 

Institutions,    charitable,   of   Amster- 
dam, 128 

Israels,  Joseph,  34,  72 

Jacquelin  of  Burgundy,  254 

Jagersfontein,  the,  126 

Janplaisir  (carriage),  223 

Jansenists,  the,   ill,   118, 

Johaniters,  the,  10 

John  of  Leyden,  58 

John  William  of  Friesland,  Prince, 
260 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  170 

Jubilee  Diamond,  the,  127 

Juliana,  Princess,  215 

Kalverstraat,  40 
Kampen,  166 
Kapsel  (headdress),  155 
Katwijk,  176 
Keldermans,  103 
Kermis,  the,  13,  142,  282 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  43 
Klopper  (lace  ornament),  219 
Knowledge  of  Art,  music  and  lan- 
guages, 216 
Koopman,  Mr.  H.,  276 
Krommenie:  Over  the  Teacups,  272 
Kruger,  Paul,  "Oom  Paul,"  45 
Kwadijk,  224 

Language  of  the  Dutch  People,  53 

Laren,  190 

Leeuwarden,  56,  239,  240 

"  headquarters  for  silver 

workers,  271 
Old  Church,  The,  62 
Leicester,  Earl  of,  180 


Leiderdorp,  181 

Leyden,  "St.  Anna's  Hofjc,"  I70 

"        Siege  of,  257 

"        Street  in,  264 
University,  169 
Lievens,  Jan,  70 
Limburg,  16,  56 
Liotard,  Mile.,  212 
Locke,  John,  58 
Louis  XI  of  France,  254 
Louis  XIV  of  France,  260 
Lucas  van  Leidan,  170 
Lucus,  114 
Luxemburg,  16,  56,  254,  262 

Maastricht,  56 

Maes,  Nicholas,  70,  1 11 

Manners,  216,  266 

Margaret  of  Parma,  256 

Maria  Theresa,  Queen,  260 

Maris,  the  Brothers,  72 

Maris,  Jacob,  34,  175 

Marken,  131,  134,  196 

Marriage  ceremony,  81 

Marvel,  Andrew,  "The  Character  of 
Holland,"  64 

Maasluis,  113,  176 

Maurice,  Prince  of  Orange,  180,  259 

Mauritshuis,  the,  33,  207 

Mauve,  Anton,  34,  135,  190 

Maximilian  of  Austria,  254 

Meldrum,  David  S.,  9 

Merwede  Canal,  48 

Merwede  river,  the,  112 

Mesdag,  34,  72,  175 

Metser,  70 

Middelburg,  56,  93,  275 

Gekke    Betje     (Foolish 
Betsey),  84 
"  history  of,  79 

"  Kermis,  The,  90 


289 


INDEX 


Middelburg,  Museum,  the,  94 
"  Nieuwe  Kerk,  93 

Middel  Harnis,  177 
Monnickendam,  19,  130 

"  Bell      Tower      and 

Weigh  House,  130 
Montagu,  Mary  Wortley,  114 
Motley,  "The  Dutch  Republic,"  18, 

205,  255,  257 
Mozart,  63 
Muiden,   190 
MuUer,  Christopher,  63 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  57,  88,  190,  261 
Navy,  Dutch,  57 
Nes,  243 
Netherlands,  the,  29 

"  the,    misunderstood   by 

foreigners,  19 

"  natural  resources  of,  57 

Neutrality,  violation  by  the  Dutch, 

New  York,  20 

Nijhuizum,  234 

Nijkerk,  190 

Nobility,  219 

North  Brabant,  56,  108 

North  Holland,  56 

Canal,  48 
"  "         Tower,  In  a,  200 

"  "         manners    and    cus- 

toms, 142 

North  Sea,  254 

Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  254 
Oude  Maas  river,  the,  112 
Over-Ysel,  56 
Oxford  University,  169 

Palace  of  Amsterdam,   121 
Paleis  Voor  Volksvlijt,  Amsterdam, 
185 


Paris,  32,  33 

"      University,  169 
Park  Schouwburg,  Amsterdam,  184 
Parliament,  Dutch,  214 
Pastry,  235 
Penn,  William,  20 
Pepys,  William,  180 
Pernis,  177 
Peter  the  Great,  134 
Peter's  House,  134 
Philadelphia,  32 
Philip  n  of  Spain,  255 
Philip,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  254 
Philip  the  Fair,  255 
Pichegru,  General,  261 
Pieneman,  "Battle  of  Waterloo,"  73 
Pinke  Wad,  the,  243 
Population  of  Holland,  52 
Porcelain,  178 
Potter,   Paul,  34,  67,  68,  70,  207, 

224 
Pottery,  178 

"        Delft,  178 
Prinsenhof,  the,  178,  181 
Protestants'  Massacre,  257 
Provincial  Council,  92 
Prussia,  212 
Publishers,  43 
Puritans,  the,  at  Delft,  20 

Quellin,  A.,  179 

Reformation,  the,  265 

Religion  of  the  Dutch  People,  52 

Rembrandt,  34,  70,  207 

"  birthplace  of,   124 

"Night    Watch,    The," 
129 
Republic,  Dutch,  253,  256 
Revolution  of  1688,  the,  265 
Rhine  river,  the,  48 


290 


INDEX 


Robert,  Earl  of  Flanders,  268 

Rogers,  "Story  of  Holland,"  265 

Romans,  the,  119,  253 

Rotterdam,  42,  113 

**  Boymans'  Museum,  114 

"  St.  Lawrence,  Church  of, 

114 
**  Museum    voor    Geschie- 

denes  en  Kunst,  114 

Rubens,  34,  207 

St.  Anthony's  Weigh-house,  128 
St  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of,  257 
Scaliger,  169 
Scheffer,  Ary,  ill 
Scheldt  River,  the,  15 
Scheveningen,  33,  74,  174 

"  fishing  town,  176 

"  Kurhaus,  174 

Schouenvaardersgild    (Dutch   Trad- 
ing Company),  64 
Schneten,  Willem,  148 
Shaftsbury,  Lord,  58 
Silver,  Dutch,  270 

"  "       American     imitations, 

270,  271 
"  ."       modern,  274 

"  "       spoons,  275 

"       Hall  mark,  the,  273 
"       Model    of    Warship, 
272 
"  "       Six    Rare    Examples, 

276 
"  "       "touch  stamps,"  273 

Silverware,  90 
Silver  workers,  guild  of,  272 
Singel,  240 

Skating  in  Holland,  79 
Sneek,  231,  239 

"       Water  Gate,  The,  250 
Sneeker  Mere,  232 

29 


Social  Life,  223 
South  Holland,  56 
Spaarne,  the,  164,  166 
Spinoza,  58,  124,  209 
Sports,  77 

Stadhouders,  9,  15,  18,  19,  36,  102 
Stad  Schouwburg,  Amsterdam,  184 
Stavoren,  152,  225,  226 
Steen,  Jan,  34,  70,  207 
Sterne,  Laurence,  277 
Stevens,  Alfred,  175 
Stork,  the,  186 

Stuarts,  restoration  of  the,  265 
Synod  of  Dort  (The  Great  Religious 
Congress),  111 

Tadema,  Sir  L  Alma,  73 
Tasma,  Abel,  148 
Tasmania,  148 
Teniers,  185 

Ter  Gouw  (Gouda),  115 
Teyler's  Museum,  72 
Thackeray,  90,  121,  205 
Theater,  the,  184 
Through  Friesland,  224 
Tobacco,  40,  91,  187 

"         used  by  boys,  238 
"Tot  Weersiens,"  277 
Treaty  of  Utrecht,  119 
Trekschuiten  (passenger  boats),  46 
Tromp,  Admiral  Maarten  Harpert- 
zoon,  148,  179,  214,  259,  260,  272 
Tulip  bulb  culture,  160 

United  Kingdom,  the,  51 
United  States,  212 
Universities  in  Holland,  14,  169 
Urk,  149,  166 
Utrecht,  56,  116,  118,  190 

"        canals,  118 

"        the  cathedral,  118 


INDEX 


Utrecht,  Treaty  of,  119,  256,  261 
"         University,  169 

Van  Deebbel,  Cornelius,  58 

Van  Dieman's  Land,  148 

Van  Dyck,  34,  207 

Van  Eyck,  Brothers,  70 

Van  Goyen,  34,  69 

Van  Honthorst,  70 

Van  Kampen,  Jac,  38 

Van  Mierevelt,  178,  182 

Van  Mieris  (senior),  70 

Van  Mieris,  the  Younger,  Franz,  34, 

207 
Van  Ostade,  Adriaan,  70 
Van  Ostade,  Isack,  69 
Van  Ravestuyn,  Jan,  34,  207 
Van  Ruisdael,  Jacob,  68,  70 
Van  s'Gravesande,  196 
Van  Staat,  Raad,  51 
Van    Swinderen,    Rene    de    Marees, 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  16 
Van  de  Velde,  Willem,  68,  69 
Van  den  Vondel,  Joost,  36,  38,  44 
Van  der  Heist,  13,  70,  129 
Van  der  Heyden,  70 
Van  der  Maes,  Quiringh  Gerritz,  34, 

207 
Van  der  Neer,  69 
Van  der  Velde,  Adrian,  70 
Veenhuizen,  Convict  Colony,  168 
Veere,  96 

"       Castle  of,  the,  105 

"       "Het  Struis,"  102 

"      invasion  of  by  Napoleon,  96 

"       Return  to  Port,  The,  98 

"       Town  Hall,  the,  102,  104 
Verdun,  Treaty  of,  253 
Vermeer  de  Delft,  Jan,  34,  70,  182, 

2C7 

"Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  30 


Vienna,  Treaty  of,  262 
Vlaardingen,  113,  176 
Vlissingen  (Flushing),  15,  87 
Volendam,  135,  236 
Von  Bentinck,  Count,  11,  18 

Walcheren,  87,  276 

"  Expedition,  88 

"  Spanish  Invasion  of,  97 

War  of  Independence,  104 

Waterloo,  261 

Weenix,  Jan,  70 

Weeper's  Tower,  the,  127 

Westphalia,  Peace  of,  259 

Whistler,  196 

Wieringen,  18,  166 

Wilibrod,   first   bishop   of   Utrecht, 
119 

Wilhelmina,  Queen,   10,   13,  33,  35, 
208,  209,  212,  214 
"  Coronation  of,  263 

Willem,  177 

William  I,  king  of  the  Netherlands, 
33»  262 

William  II,  king  of  the  Netherlands, 
262 

William  II  of  Orange,  259 

William   III,   king   of   the   Nether- 
lands, 262 

William  III  of  Orange,  260 

William  IV  of  Orange,  261 

William  V  of  Orange,  261 

William  V,  "Stadhouder,"  207 

William  of  Orange,  Prince,  33,  178, 

256,  257 
"        "        "        Assassination 

of,  258 
William  the  Silent,  62,  181,  256,  259 
Williams,  Roger,  20 
Wilson,  President  Woodrow,  44 


292 


INDEX 


Windmills,  133 
Winter,  Miss,  212 
Workum,  234 
Wouverman,  70 

Y  river,  the,  37 

Zaan  river,  the,  133 


Zaandam,  133 

Peter's  House,  134 
Zeebrugge,  canal,  15 
Zeeland,  56,  92,  268,  275 
Zola,  13 

Zuyderzee,  57,  77,  166,  226,  254 
ZwoUe,  56,  201 
Zwuartenwaal,  177 


293 


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